SMU in hunt for fast DE

[Hilltopper]

Defensive end Paul Briscoe (6-4, 240, 4.6) of Dickinson, Texas, has SMU on his early list, along with Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and TCU.

[Stallion]

isn't his coach Warren Trahan a former Aggie from the 60s or 70s. Maybe he is close to Bennett.

[Corso]

How do you know all this stuff?!?!?!?

[ET]

Yes, he plays for Coach Trahan, who is a former Aggie and father of UT player Beau Trahan. I saw Briscoe play against Friendswood. He has a nice frame and quick feet. He really likes to fly around and hit. What type of defense does SMU run?

ET

[SMUguy]

SMU runs primarily a 4-3 defense. The tackles last year were Lute Croy, who's big and strong, and Allan Adami who's smaller (265 or so) and unbelievably strong. Both DTs -- especially Croy -- were asked to plug the middle and occupy blockers so the linebackers could run free to the ball. Adami, however, is quick enough that he still spent ample time in the offensive backfield. The defensive ends are led by Don Ieremia-Stansbury, a converted linebacker who's now up to 250 pounds and has observers labeling him a future star.

The secondary lost Kevin Garrett to graduation (and the NFL Draft next week), but retains Jonas Rutledge, one of the top CBs in the conference. The safeties struggled last year from lost confidence, injuries (Alvin Nnabuife) and youth/inexperience (Jamey Harper). They should be vastly improved this year, now that they have a year of Coach Bennett's system under their belts. Moving Ruben Moodley from safety corner gives the team another big corner with three years of college experience.