from sports illustrated:
DEFENSE
Ruffin McNeal started to transform the defense over the second half of last season and now the potential is there for a huge season. There's speed to burn on the corners, a good trio of relatively young linebackers to work around, and a defensive line that would be the team's strength if it wasn't for the high-octane passing game. Pass rusher extraordinaire Brandon Williams is about to become a superstar while tackles Colby Whitlock and Rajon Henley each have All-Big 12 potential. As good as they are, they'll all have to fight to hang on to their jobs with top junior-college transfers Brandon Sesay, Broderick Marshall and McKinner Dixon all good enough to start. The defensive back seven is designed to get the most speed and athleticism on the field as possible, and it should pay off with a secondary that should be as good as the one that led the Big 12 last year. Now the run defense has to be better.
Defensive Line: Last year's biggest concern could be one of this season's biggest defensive strengths. There's All-Big 12 caliber talent in end Brandon Williams and tackles Rajon Henley and Colby Whitlock, but the starting four will likely be vastly different once the season starts than it was in the summer with junior-college transfers Brandon Sesay, Broderick Marshall and McKinner Dixon all expected to push for jobs, if not take over. Potentially, this could be the best line in the Mike Leach era, and it might not even be close.
Linebackers: Compared to last year when the linebackers were a bit of a question mark, there's nothing but upside in this year's corps with excellent speed and quickness on the outside in Bront Bird, Marlon Williams, Blake Collier and Tyrone Sonier, and there are two true middle linebackers to stop the run in Brian Duncan and Victor Hunter. This will be an ultra-aggressive, very interesting unit.
Secondary: The Big 12's best pass defense should reload. Losing top tackler Joe Garcia hurts, but Anthony Hines and Lance Fuller should be able to handle themselves. Darcel McBath is a strong veteran free safety while Jamar Wall is one of the league's rising star corners. The key will be to harness all the speed on the outside to find a star No. 2 corner to take advantage of teams staying away from Wall.
Special Teams: There are question marks at kicker, needing to find a steady replacement for Alex Trlica, but the punting should be set for the next three years with Jonathan LaCour looking like a keeper. The return game will be more than fine after averaging 11.56 yards per punt return and 21.94 yards on kickoff returns.
