This is all based on the current kuathletics.com roster and the signing day roster compared to the 2016 roster, so the current and recruit roster are subject to change before we get to two-a-days.
As a self-admitted homer, the past few years have been pretty tough. Trying to stay positive, but realizing we needed time. For the past few years I have been saying we needed a fast-forward button to get past these few years. We might need that fast-forward button for one more season...except at the DL position. This is the one spot I can let my homerism roam free and not be too terribly off...
RETURNING
DeeIsaac Davis (SR, 6' 3" 300 lbs): 31 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 PBU
Isi Holani (SR, 6' 3" 325 lbs): 11 tackles, 1 TFL
Jacky Dezir (SR, 6' 1" 290 lbs): 4 tackles, 1 TFL
Kellen Ash (SR, 6' 3" 285 lbs): 1 tackle, 1 TFL
Dorance Armstrong Jr (JR, 6' 4" 246 lbs): 56 tackles, 20 TFL, 10 sacks, 5 QBH, 2 FR, 3 FF
Daniel Wise (JR, 6' 3" 290 lbs): 38 tackles, 10 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 PBU, 3 QBH, 1 FR
Josh Ehambe (JR, 6' 3" 247 lbs): 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF
Isaiah Bean (SO, 6' 4" 220 lbs): 11 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 QBH
Mazin Aql (SO, 6' 2" 230 lbs): No stats
LOST
Damani Mosby (SR, 6' 3" 258 lbs): 25 tackles, 7 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH, 2 FR, 2 FF
Cameron Rosser (SR, 6' 1" 240 lbs): 14 tackles, 7 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
Anthony Olobia (SR, 6' 5" 250 lbs): 14 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH
Devon Williams (SR, 6' 4" 320 lbs): No stats
Will Smith (SR, 6' 3" 307 lbs): No stats
DJ Williams (SO, 6' 5" 298 lbs): 3 tackles, 1 TFL
Lay'Trion Jones (SO, 6' 3" 295 lbs): No stats
Chris Hughes (FR, 6' 3" 285 lbs): Redshirted, moved to OL
Sam Hardy (FR, 6' 4" 230 lbs): Redshirted
ADDED
J. J. Holmes (JR, 6' 3" 335 lbs)
Willie McCaleb (JR, 6' 2" 240 lbs)
KeyShaun Simmons (JR, 6' 2" 285 lbs)
Dai Coye Haley (FR, 6' 2" 290 lbs)
Jelani Arnold (FR, 6' 2" 225 lbs)
Vaughn Taylor (FR, 6' 3" 200 lbs)
Sam Burt (FR, 6' 4" 240 lbs)
BREAKDOWN
We return 2 All Big 12 defensive lineman. 2 of them. I would be happy with one, but returning 2 of them is freaking amazing. Both Dorance and Wise have the opportunity to go down as two of best Jayhawk defensive lineman in KU history. But they do have work to do. How do these guys progress after getting these accolades this past year? I think the fact that there are two of them helps each other so offenses don't specifically target either one of them.
Then you return the steady DeeIsaac Davis. Davis is the kind of DL you like to have on your team every year, but don't really notice much. He is the guy that will do the dirty work, but did provide some explosion as well at times. The rest of the returning DL I would like to see take a step up. We need Holani to play better more consistently. Ehambe would be a nice one to step up as well. Ash and Dezir, if they can provide quality snaps would help as well.
But the key to this unit being a truly historically great unit for us next year is possibly the development of Isaiah Bean. A little lean, but he was very active as a true freshman last year. If he can become a guy that they can count on to be an every snap kind of guy, this could make the defensive line really hard to defend.
The newcomers will help with this as well. JJ Holmes is another one of these guys that I think could take KU to the next level on the DL. The biggest guy of the group, but he has great explosion to go with his size. He could be a headache for teams to deal with. Willie McCaleb is another guy we will need to be solid next year, he may be a better option for this next season as an all-around DE type than Bean, so him being ready right away would help. I am curious to see what they do with KeyShaun Simmons as he has some positional versatility (more on that in a minute). And I am also going to include Maciah Long here even though he is currently listed as an LB - Cameron Rosser ended up playing an important role for us last year, of which I hope Maciah can step into that role - he could be dangerous there...
Something I am curious to see this upcoming season - what defensive fronts do they show this year? I am sure they will show multiple fronts, but with the number of big DL we have, I am curious if we see more fronts out there with 3 big guys (280+ lbs) at a time. This could just be me looking too much into things, but I found it interesting on the roster that they have Simmons listed as a DL and neither DE/DT. On their signing day roster, they have Holmes listed as a DT but the rest listed as DL. I don't remember them doing that before, so it makes me wonder if there is a focus for this staff to have some bigger guys on there that can play inside and outside and we see that utilized this year frequently
As a self-admitted homer, the past few years have been pretty tough. Trying to stay positive, but realizing we needed time. For the past few years I have been saying we needed a fast-forward button to get past these few years. We might need that fast-forward button for one more season...except at the DL position. This is the one spot I can let my homerism roam free and not be too terribly off...
RETURNING
DeeIsaac Davis (SR, 6' 3" 300 lbs): 31 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 PBU
Isi Holani (SR, 6' 3" 325 lbs): 11 tackles, 1 TFL
Jacky Dezir (SR, 6' 1" 290 lbs): 4 tackles, 1 TFL
Kellen Ash (SR, 6' 3" 285 lbs): 1 tackle, 1 TFL
Dorance Armstrong Jr (JR, 6' 4" 246 lbs): 56 tackles, 20 TFL, 10 sacks, 5 QBH, 2 FR, 3 FF
Daniel Wise (JR, 6' 3" 290 lbs): 38 tackles, 10 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 PBU, 3 QBH, 1 FR
Josh Ehambe (JR, 6' 3" 247 lbs): 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF
Isaiah Bean (SO, 6' 4" 220 lbs): 11 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 QBH
Mazin Aql (SO, 6' 2" 230 lbs): No stats
LOST
Damani Mosby (SR, 6' 3" 258 lbs): 25 tackles, 7 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH, 2 FR, 2 FF
Cameron Rosser (SR, 6' 1" 240 lbs): 14 tackles, 7 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
Anthony Olobia (SR, 6' 5" 250 lbs): 14 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH
Devon Williams (SR, 6' 4" 320 lbs): No stats
Will Smith (SR, 6' 3" 307 lbs): No stats
DJ Williams (SO, 6' 5" 298 lbs): 3 tackles, 1 TFL
Lay'Trion Jones (SO, 6' 3" 295 lbs): No stats
Chris Hughes (FR, 6' 3" 285 lbs): Redshirted, moved to OL
Sam Hardy (FR, 6' 4" 230 lbs): Redshirted
ADDED
J. J. Holmes (JR, 6' 3" 335 lbs)
Willie McCaleb (JR, 6' 2" 240 lbs)
KeyShaun Simmons (JR, 6' 2" 285 lbs)
Dai Coye Haley (FR, 6' 2" 290 lbs)
Jelani Arnold (FR, 6' 2" 225 lbs)
Vaughn Taylor (FR, 6' 3" 200 lbs)
Sam Burt (FR, 6' 4" 240 lbs)
BREAKDOWN
We return 2 All Big 12 defensive lineman. 2 of them. I would be happy with one, but returning 2 of them is freaking amazing. Both Dorance and Wise have the opportunity to go down as two of best Jayhawk defensive lineman in KU history. But they do have work to do. How do these guys progress after getting these accolades this past year? I think the fact that there are two of them helps each other so offenses don't specifically target either one of them.
Then you return the steady DeeIsaac Davis. Davis is the kind of DL you like to have on your team every year, but don't really notice much. He is the guy that will do the dirty work, but did provide some explosion as well at times. The rest of the returning DL I would like to see take a step up. We need Holani to play better more consistently. Ehambe would be a nice one to step up as well. Ash and Dezir, if they can provide quality snaps would help as well.
But the key to this unit being a truly historically great unit for us next year is possibly the development of Isaiah Bean. A little lean, but he was very active as a true freshman last year. If he can become a guy that they can count on to be an every snap kind of guy, this could make the defensive line really hard to defend.
The newcomers will help with this as well. JJ Holmes is another one of these guys that I think could take KU to the next level on the DL. The biggest guy of the group, but he has great explosion to go with his size. He could be a headache for teams to deal with. Willie McCaleb is another guy we will need to be solid next year, he may be a better option for this next season as an all-around DE type than Bean, so him being ready right away would help. I am curious to see what they do with KeyShaun Simmons as he has some positional versatility (more on that in a minute). And I am also going to include Maciah Long here even though he is currently listed as an LB - Cameron Rosser ended up playing an important role for us last year, of which I hope Maciah can step into that role - he could be dangerous there...
Something I am curious to see this upcoming season - what defensive fronts do they show this year? I am sure they will show multiple fronts, but with the number of big DL we have, I am curious if we see more fronts out there with 3 big guys (280+ lbs) at a time. This could just be me looking too much into things, but I found it interesting on the roster that they have Simmons listed as a DL and neither DE/DT. On their signing day roster, they have Holmes listed as a DT but the rest listed as DL. I don't remember them doing that before, so it makes me wonder if there is a focus for this staff to have some bigger guys on there that can play inside and outside and we see that utilized this year frequently
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