Defensive line coach Bert Hill (photo by SMU athletics).

The argument could be made that no position group made more of an improvement for the SMU Mustangs between the 2008 and 2009 seasons than the defensive line. New players arrived, and the holdovers developed and grew, allowing the line to create pressure on opposing offenses, thereby making the linebackers and secondary far more effective than they were the year before.

Nose tackle Chris Parham and defensive ends Taylor Thompson and Marquis Frazier gave the Ponies the best starting defensive line they have had in years. The biggest difference from the previous season was size, especially at defensive end: Thompson blew up to 6-foot-6, 280 pounds. Frazier arrived at 6-3, 281. Backups Kevin Grenier (6-4, 250) and Margus Hunt (6-8, 267) are bigger than many team’s starters.

Defensive end Taylor Thompson is one of three SMU defensive ends who have been mentioned as possible future NFL players (photo by Travis Johnston).

Defensive line coach Bert Hill quickly deflects credit for the emergence of last year’s line, and said he enters the 2010 spring workouts ready to “start over.”

“We’re going to put our three best linemen on the field based on the situation,” Hill said. “It doesn’t matter how old he is, or even how big he is. If a guy is a football player, plays the technique he’s taught, runs to the football and makes plays, then that other stuff is overrated.”

Hill’s group will have a different look this spring.

Parham graduated, and backup Torlan Pittman was suspended. Hunt will practice with the team some, but will spend much of the spring training with SMU track and field coach Dave Wollman, and Grenier will miss spring drills after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

NOSE TACKLES

Hill will have four interior linemen this spring: Jimmy Chase, who will be a sophomore in the fall, and Jesse Andrew, who will be a senior, Justin Smart, who also will be a senior, will slide inside from defensive end, while true freshman Mike O’Guin graduated early from Van Vleck (Texas) High School in large part so he can get a head start on his academic work and reap the benefits of an extra session of spring workouts.

O’Guin, at 6-2 and 305 pounds, is the biggest of the bunch, but Hill cautioned against expecting too much, too fast.

“He’s still a high school player, basically,” Hill said. “Yes, he’s a big, strong kid, but he’s got a lot to learn. Playing in high school and playing Div. I football are two different things. He’ll get an opportunity to compete, and we’ll see how much he picks up.”

By contrast, Smart is the lightest of the bunch, listed on last year’s roster at just 233 pounds, but Hill said he doesn’t worry about the size his players bring to the position.

“First of all, Justin is very strong, and he’s tough,” Hill said. “You don’t have to be 300 pounds to play there (nose). We’re so thin, we’re going to be teaching more than hitting each other, so he’ll have some time to add some weight over the summer. These things will sort themselves out.”

DEFENSIVE ENDS

Defensive end Margus Hunt will miss some spring workouts while training with SMU track coach Dave Wollman (photo by Travis Johnston).

The Mustangs also will be shorthanded this spring at defensive end, where Grenier will be sidelined while recuperating from his shoulder surgery, and Hunt will spend much of the spring throwing the shot and discus. While media and fans alike fawned over Hunt in his first season playing football, Hill said his novice pupil earned the attention he drew as a freshman.

“Margus did a great job last year,” Hill said. “That was his first season ever playing the game, and he did a lot of things really well. He still has a long way to go, and a lot to learn, but if he keeps at it, he can be a very good football player.”

Hill also said he has no concerns that Hunt’s time as a thrower this spring will derail Hunt’s development.

“That’s not going to set him back — he’ll be fine,” Hill said. “He’ll do enough to stay sharp. We’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’re going to ask him to do a lot of the same things we asked him to do last year, but now he has a year under his belt, so he’ll start to do things faster, read the offense faster and react to things more quickly, more instinctively. He’ll be a lot better this season, because everything’s not completely new to him anymore.”

Hill said that while his starter at nose tackle has yet to be determined — and won’t until preseason workouts in August — there’s no reason to believe Thompson and Frazier won’t maintain their starting spots at end, especially with Hunt limited and Grenier merely an observer this spring. But just like in 2009, Hill said, there will be times when the Ponies have three defensive ends on the field at the same time, with Frazier sliding inside to the nose, between Thompson and Hunt.

In obvious passing situations, defensive end Marquis Frazier once again will slide inside to nose tackle so the Ponies can have their top three pass rushers on the field at the same time (photo by Travis Johnston).

“Yeah, we’ll do that sometimes,” Hill said. “In obvious passing situations, we’re going to have our three best pass rushers on the field at the same time. But that’s not a big change — we’re always going to try to get our three best players for the situation out there.”

Like Hunt, Thompson and Frazier have been mentioned by head coach June Jones as possible candidates for the NFL, an assessment Hill said is not unrealistic.

“They all made a lot of progress last year, and they all have potential,” he said. “If they continue to show that work ethic and sharpen their technique, they’ll be able to make more plays.

“We want them to be good for SMU first. When the time comes, they might get an opportunity to (play professionally), too.”

Others who will be in the rotation this spring at defensive end include Aaron Davis (who will be a sophomore in the fall), Szymon Czerniak (junior) and Mickey Dollens (senior).

OUTLOOK

“The spring is a chance for us to start over,” Hill said. “It’s a different situation, and we’ll have some different people in there. It’s kind of a do-over for all of us.”

In addition to Grenier, the Mustangs have several players who will sit out spring workouts after offseason surgeries; therefore, it is expected that very little hitting, if any, will take place. Hill said that despite the physical nature of the position he coaches, the lack of hitting should not affect the progress his group can make in the spring.

“It shouldn’t,” he said. “We’re still going to do what we do in practice. We can still run drills, we can still work on perfecting technique, we can simulate game situations, and we can practice tackling without putting people on the ground.

“We've got a lot of work to do, and we’re going to get a lot done.”