Interesting.......

https://www.on3.com/news/ranking-the-top-10-defenses-in-college-football-ahead-of-2025-season/

A&M at 9th with us having the 6th best LB crew in the nation and 2nd best LB in York (Anthony Hill is number 1) according to PFF. I know my BAS can be strong but no way York is the 2nd best LB in the nation and the defensive play calling will have to get a ton better

LB are better than most want to admit. DL has a very nice starting group. Depth may be an issue. Secondary definitely should be better next year with the additions we made. And finally play calling will improve with Elko calling the shots.

I have my concerns about the defense but the potential to be elite is still there.

PFF must have lost the tape from the Notre Dame game last year

P.U.T.U said:

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A&M at 9th with us having the 6th best LB crew in the nation and 2nd best LB in York (Anthony Hill is number 1) according to PFF. I know my BAS can be strong but no way York is the 2nd best LB in the nation and the defensive play calling will have to get a ton better

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I expect it will with Elko now calling the plays on that side of the ball

If we end up with the 9th best defense, and our veteran O Line stays healthy and lives up to its potential then pass me the koolaid.

Problem is we play ND at #6 and # 1, 2, and 4 are all in the SEC. That's probably 3 games for us out of the 4 and we'd need to win at least 1 to have a chance at the playoffs and not lose to anyone else.

aggiedad7 said:

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Problem is we play ND at #6 and # 1, 2, and 4 are all in the SEC. That's probably 3 games for us out of the 4 and we'd need to win at least 1 to have a chance at the playoffs and not lose to anyone else.

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We don't play Bama or Georgia this year. Only #2(tu) and #6 (ND)

so much goes into having a top defense. some of it can be assisted by what style of offense you play. we play complimentary football and i expect our defense to be quite a bit better this year. top 10 might be a push but top 20-25 i think is within grasp if we play assignment football. last year was a disaster on that front. we had talent but they didn't do their jobs. I think elkos influence will pay big dividends

York got a lot more comfortable as the year went on last year.

Defensive backfield should be very strong.

DL has a chance to really flash.

100% agree. I expect top 25 or very damn near close.

This is laughable. We will probably be a top-40 defense, but not top 10.

We couldn't stop the outside run last year, who's fast enough to get to the edge or strong enough to contain it? I don't see us stopping the run whatsoever. Our run defense was 9th in the conference last year with 3 NFL defensive lineman. Who's getting to the quarterback and creating pressure? This will be one of our weakest and inexperienced defensive lines in a long long time. Our linebackers aren't elite or have elite speed. Our secondary is just hopeful at this point.

Who in our front 7 is starting at Tu, Georgia, Bama, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee or any strong team…

York had to literally be taken out in passing downs last year because he couldn't cover a jv route runner

taylorswift13_ said:

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Who in our front 7 is starting at Tu, Georgia, Bama, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee or any strong team…

York had to literally be taken out in passing downs last year because he couldn't cover a jv route runner

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DJ Hicks is the only one.

Howell would absolutely be a weapon for any of those teams this year.

the most cool guy said:

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This is laughable. We will probably be a top-40 defense, but not top 10.

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If you are referring to "total" defense I'm sure you are right. Actual? No, we will be better than 40. We were last year and are likely to be better this year. But only tim will tell.

Preseason hype sucks.

Desperately trying to get big fan bases to care by lying about how good they're supposed to be because the reality of "its another 8-5 year and you know it" doesn't open up those wallets.

Maroon Dawn said:

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Preseason hype sucks.

Desperately trying to get big fan bases to care by lying about how good they're supposed to be because the reality of "its another 8-5 year and you know it" doesn't open up those wallets.

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Do you bleed every day of the year?

Bunk Moreland said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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Preseason hype sucks.

Desperately trying to get big fan bases to care by lying about how good they're supposed to be because the reality of "its another 8-5 year and you know it" doesn't open up those wallets.

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Do you bleed every day of the year?

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Do you honestly believe our defense is top 10? Be honest.

Maroon Dawn said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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Preseason hype sucks.

Desperately trying to get big fan bases to care by lying about how good they're supposed to be because the reality of "its another 8-5 year and you know it" doesn't open up those wallets.

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Do you bleed every day of the year?

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Do you honestly believe our defense is top 10? Be honest.

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I think it could be. We have talent on that side of the ball and a good defensive coach who has had a top level defense here before. And that's all off season talk is at this point.

What I don't do is go from thread to thread in the offseason bleeding with "8-4" as the only topic I can come up with.

Bunk Moreland said:

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Howell would absolutely be a weapon for any of those teams this year.

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so he wasn't a weapon for us last year, but this year he will be?

the most cool guy said:

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taylorswift13_ said:

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Who in our front 7 is starting at Tu, Georgia, Bama, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee or any strong team…

York had to literally be taken out in passing downs last year because he couldn't cover a jv route runner

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DJ Hicks is the only one.

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is it even a given he starts for us?

Bunk Moreland said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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Preseason hype sucks.

Desperately trying to get big fan bases to care by lying about how good they're supposed to be because the reality of "its another 8-5 year and you know it" doesn't open up those wallets.

---

Do you bleed every day of the year?

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Do you honestly believe our defense is top 10? Be honest.

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I think it could be. We have talent on that side of the ball and a good defensive coach who has had a top level defense here before. And that's all off season talk is at this point.

What I don't do is go from thread to thread in the offseason bleeding with "8-4" as the only topic I can come up with.

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My brother, have you seen this program over the last 30 years? 8-4 is infinitely more likely than a Top 10 defense leading us to the playoff

taylorswift13_ said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Howell would absolutely be a weapon for any of those teams this year.

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so he wasn't a weapon for us last year, but this year he will be?

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He was stuck behind the logjam of vets last year and still logged 4 sacks and 9tfl.

Maroon Dawn said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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Preseason hype sucks.

Desperately trying to get big fan bases to care by lying about how good they're supposed to be because the reality of "its another 8-5 year and you know it" doesn't open up those wallets.

---

Do you bleed every day of the year?

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Do you honestly believe our defense is top 10? Be honest.

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I do. It will boil down to LB play and how well our secondary adopts Elko's system. The talent is definitely there, the chemistry just needs to be in place.

taylorswift13_ said:

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Howell would absolutely be a weapon for any of those teams this year.

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so he wasn't a weapon for us last year, but this year he will be?

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He was our best pass rusher in limited snaps.

taylorswift13_ said:

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Who in our front 7 is starting at Tu, Georgia, Bama, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee or any strong team…

York had to literally be taken out in passing downs last year because he couldn't cover a jv route runner

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Oh look

It's the girl version of Miller58

IF we have a Top 25 defense and that's a big IF it's going to be a fun year imo.

Elko's defense will be middle of the SEC, at best.

If we can have a front that can be multiple that doesn't get stuck in that weak eagle like we did at the end of the year last year.... we can have a much better overall defense. Watching the spring game which tends to be your typical base fronts we were lining up in a lot more looks than we did all season last year. That was a big positive for me watching the game in person. The other thing was it looked like we have multiple guys who can play the nickel/star position, as where last year we had one in Tyreek and when he got hurt we got stuck playing a true nickel with a 6-man box that was stagnant (Weak eagle with backers bumped strong). We have to be able to make offenses uncertain who is a force player and who is removed from the box, if we fix that and look more like Elko's defenses under Jimbo we will be in good shape.

York did well playing with Cooper since teams were hesitant to run outside with Cooper's speed. Cooper would force them back inside where York would get the tackle. We started doing better when Scooby started since he has the speed but teams had York figured out. Nothing against him, he just doesn't have the speed.

Issue is Anderson got burned a few times on play actions since he had to step up to help with the outside run.

P.U.T.U said:

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York did well playing with Cooper since teams were hesitant to run outside with Cooper's speed. Cooper would force them back inside where York would get the tackle. We started doing better when Scooby started since he has the speed but teams had York figured out. Nothing against him, he just doesn't have the speed.

Issue is Anderson got burned a few times on play actions since he had to step up to help with the outside run.

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Two Things:

1. York's Role and the Front Structure Shift
In Durkin's defense, we were primarily basing out of a 50 front (3-4), which is much more aggressive and fire-oriented, especially on the strong side of the play. That front allowed York to slow play and clean up on plays flowing away from him, while still being aggressive when the play came toward him.
This year, we've mostly been in a 40 front with a 4-2 box, which changes the dynamic. It's easier for the offensive line to identify their assignments, both in zone and pattern blocking, when they see that consistent 6-man box. That makes it harder for our linebackers to disguise and scrape cleanly, unlike in the 3-4 where there's more flexibility and disguise.
You could see early in the season that York was adjusting to that change. As the year progressed, he got more comfortable, but there's no doubt that if we start mixing up our fronts more often, it's going to help both Scooby and York make more plays. It slows down the offensive line's ability to fire off confidently, forcing hesitation that favors the defense.

2. Anderson's Usage and Fit
In Durkin's scheme, Anderson thrived when he could walk down (Sky) and play downhill. Last year, he was used more often in off coverage, and it looked like he was being asked to read 2-to-1 and process more pattern match concepts. That hesitation showed at times in his reactions.
Ideally, if he's not going to be a true free safety, I'd love to see him as the backside/weak safety, where he often serves as the extra run defender and gets to play more aggressively downhill. He just looks more natural when attacking, rather than thinking.
He's solid in the middle of the field (MOF) in Cover 3, but if we want to play more split-field looks, Cover 4 or Quarters, he needs to improve his eyes and reaction timing in halves coverage.

We finished 63rd in total defense (367.3 total yards allowed per game), 90th in pass defense (232.2 passing yards allowed per game), 43rd in run defense (135.2 rushing yards allowed per game), and 35th in scoring defense (22.2 points allowed per game). Hopefully, we can improve to top 30 in total defense and top 20 in scoring defense.

That looks very AI done