Who my Defensive Starters would be in week 3

SDE – Werner

SDE – White

White just hasn’t shown anything outside of effort.  He seems like a good kid but just doesn’t have either the strength or the burst to be effective at this level.  I don’t think we’ll see Werner start this year due to White work ethic but his Snaps will soon eclipse White’s.

DT – Dawkins

DT – McAllister

IMHO, Dawkins is our best player on the defensive line.  He frequently gets pressure and looks like a dynamic player for us in the near future.

NG – McCloud

NG – McDaniel

McDaniel hasn’t been bad but McCloud is able to provide Clog in the middle of the defense.  I really like the combination of Dawkins and McCloud, it provides a great speed power combination.  McCloud has to be double leaving Dawkins in a lot of one on one opportunities.

WDE – Jenkins

WDE – Hicks

Jenkins has a great first step but I’m still a little subject to his ability to stand up against the run versus a larger ball club.  Jenkins makes up for his shortcomings with a lot of big play ability.

SAM – Jones

SAM – Alexander

IMHO, Jones just seems to be playing better if he does a better job of wrapping up vs. Sanford, he’s our Defensive MVP.  Alexander on the other hand had a tough time getting off blocks in the OU game. I saw a lot of Jones in the OU game. Physically, he looks ready to play.  In 2010, Jones maybe our best LB no matter who we recruit.

Mike – Williams

Mike – Smith

Williams just looks like a better football player right now and has the ability to take on blocks that Smith isn’t physically able.

Will – Bradham

Will – Smith

After the first three games, Nigel looks like a guy who is coming back for his senior year.  He’s playing pretty slow and looks a lot like the guy who started the 2009 season.  The game slowed down for him last year, let’s hope it does it again this year. 

FC – Harris

FC – Reid

Reid has had a tough time taking on blocks, tackling and defending taller receivers while Harris looked great against Sanford.  Reid tackling issues began in the Sanford game when his miss led to Sanford longest gain.  If we are going to be zone heavy team Reid is a better fit in a nickel capacity right now, IMHO.

BC – Rhodes

BC- Joyner

Rhodes is still learning the position but you can see flashes of what the coaches love about the kid.  He looks like a zone corner.

SS – Parks

SS – Demps

Either guy hasn’t been very impressive.  Bright would be the number 2, due to snaps played but is out this week so Demps should pickup his snaps. 

FS – Moody

FS – Jenije

Moody provides an enforcer element, which I think we all love.  He hasn’t played enough snaps to know if he’s good zone safety.  I really like him around the box against the run though.  If BYU plays the running the QB, I can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t want Moody at FS.  The guy is a beast.