Pass rush

[SMUguy]

Am I right that Melvin Williams and Justin Rogers are pegged as the starting DEs? It's no secret that we need to generate more pressure on the QB this year. I wonder if the addition of raw-but-athletic Jamar Bey and Dominic Pryor will add to the pass rush, or if we'll see more blitzes from the OLBs and stunts with the DTs to create more of a rush.

[Phil Fan]

Trust me, the more comfortable Coach Bennett gets with his players - and vice versa - the more he'll turn guys loose (once they understand how to avoid ditching their responsibilities). Pass rush should be better (I only saw two games last year, so I can't speak to specifics from last year.

[Hilltopper]

If Cleveland and Muse are as fast as advertised, any defensive coach with the résumé that Coach Bennett has will figure out a way to turn them loose!

[A-town Pony]

Coach Bennett spoke briefly about blitzing & pressuring the quarterback at the Austin roundup. He likened a blitz to a "band play" . . saying that when you blitz, one teams band will be playing afterwards. Unfortunately, it was our opponents band that were playing all last year.

Hopefully, our front 4 will be able to get enough of a push so that we won't be needing to blitz and can cover in the secondary. Luckily, we don't play teams w/ athletic quarterbacks aka the Brad Smith's & Vince Young's of the world.

[RedRiverPony]

I don't know - Donovan Woods (OSU) is pretty fast. And when we play Hawaii, we'll need to get a lot of pressure on Chang to give our DBs a chance. Same with the new kid at Boise - he's supposed to be looking pretty sharp as a replacement for Dinwiddie - and at TCU, whether it's Hassell or Gunn.

[Lotus]

Anyone have an update on how Bey and Pryor are progressing, either in spring ball or in the weight room? Those guys need to join the rotation quickly to add an infusion of height and quickness.

[SMUFan]

Speaking of the LBs and DLs, what's up these days with Cole Horton? DE or OLB? Is he in the rotation? He's a big (6'5") kid who looks like he's got some strength .... can he play? Will we see him get some playing time this season?

[Corso]

At the end of his redshirt year, Horton was mentioned by the coaches as a future contributor, someone who'd have a real impact in a couple of years. But I haven't heard much about him. Special teams, maybe?

[Ikus]

Part of the pass rush has to come when Jones/Bonds tie up blockers and Adami or the MLB (Carrington or Lee) shoot the gaps inside.