2008 Football Defense: Volume 3

Without a doubt, the unit hit hardest by graduation this year was the secondary. Not great when you take into consideration all the spread offenses the Horns will be seeing this season. At the cornerback position only Brandon Foster graduated. At safety all but one, junior Ishie Oduegwu, graduated. And he's a strong safety, a position generally geared more towards stopping the run than the pass. How is it possible that there is such a huge hole in the depth chart at safety? Because Texas's secondary is straight hood. Robert Joseph and James Henry would have alleviated many of the Horns' safety-related woes, but unfortunately they had a hard time staying out of trouble. The Man stickin' it to Texas's secondary: Mushcamp 3 Lackluster Defense 2

The Good Guys' Defense: Secondary

The biggest complaint about last season's secondary, besides their ineffectual pass coverage, was their short stature. Cornerbacks Brandon Foster and Ryan Palmer are 5'9 and 5'10, respectively, which made it simple for other teams to create mismatches down field with taller receivers (see: Crabtree, Michael).  Even though losing one of the lollypop kids hurts in terms of experience, it will be nice to see cornerbacks starting for Texas that can ride all the rides at Six Flags Fiesta (zing).  Using the nickel package to play more of the better physically equipped cornerbacks: Muschamp 4 Lackluster Defense 2

Cornerbacks

Returning cornerbacks from last season with any sort of playing time are Ryan Palmer, Curtis Brown, Chykie Brown, and Deon Beasley. Curtis Brown had arthroscopic knee surgery last week and will be missing all of spring practice. All four of our returning cornerbacks had meaningful play time last season, and should look much improved over last year's unit. I watched the first spring practice and Chykie Brown stuck out to me as one of the strongest players on the entire defense.  He's 6'1, fast, and really showed a sense of purpose in pass coverage situations. Deon Beasley may very well find himself sitting on the bench behind the Browns and Palmer, as he had a fairly mediocre showing at the open spring practices. Based on what I have observed, the three (nickel defense) starting cornerbacks are Ryan Palmer, Curtis Brown, and Chykie Brown. Incoming freshman D.J. Monroe will likely play cornerback, and all scouting reports say he is ludicrous-speed-fast. Having serious competition from newer players: Mushcamp 5 Lackluster Defense 2

Safeties

The biggest question-mark in the '08 Longhorn defense is who in the world is going to play safety. Ishie, the only returning safety, played in all 13 games in 2006 and 2007, and never intercepted a single pass or caused any sort of turnover. He's also out for the Spring practices due to a shoulder injury. "Starting" in his place during the practices were Earl Thomas and Ben Wells, neither of whom have ever seen the field in a game. Incoming freshman Aaron Williams is an elite prospect according to most scouting services and those who have seen him play in high school who will likely see playing time immediately. Let's hope he is really that good. And doesn't get arrested over the summer just to fit in with last year's young safeties. Redshirt freshman Christian Scott is also out for some of spring practice and hasn't played in a game. True freshman Blake Gideon is a very raw safety who will most likely redshirt his freshman year to improve his skills. Having Duane Akina focus on nothing but coaching the young secondary: Mushcamp 6 Lackluster Defense 2