Posted August 14th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Depth Chart, Football
Position Rating: B-
Starter: Lamarr Houston, Roy Miller
Reserves: Ben Alexander, Aaron Lewis, Michael Wilcoxon, ???
Defensive tackle is one of the most exciting positions on the Texas defense going into 2008 but also the spot where depth is the biggest concern. [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] and [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] are the starters and might be the best pair of interior defenders in the conference. The complete lack of both proven depth and warm bodies behind them could mean big trouble if either of the top two goes down.
Miller saw significant playing time as the third member of the tackle rotation last season and was one of the defense’s most consistent performers. This year the big run-stopping DT out of Killeen will be leaned on to be more of a playmaker while also holding down blockers to allow the defensive ends to get after the quarterback. Next to Miller will be the former defensive end Houston, who might be the player that has Texas fans the most excited. It’s been a long time since the team has had a pass-rushing presence on the interior, but the noise coming from insiders is that Houston is going to be a force on the interior. Both players have incredible upside and could be early round NFL draft picks soon.
Behind the starters things get a lot murkier as both on and off field issues have left the cupboard pretty bare at the position. Andre Jones, Brian Ellis, and Tyrell Higgins were all going to be relied on this season and now all are out of the program. The first player off the bench might be another former defensive end in [tag]Aaron Lewis[/tag] who will probably continue to play both positions. The biggest key to the position will be the development of [tag]Ben Alexander[/tag] and [tag]Michael Wilcoxon[/tag]. The team desparately needs two guys to step up from that second group to be able to spell the starters or else promising true freshmen [tag]Jarvis Humphrey[/tag] and [tag]Kheeston Randall[/tag] better be ready in a hurry.
Update: In surprising news, [tag]Tyrell Higgins[/tag] is back on the roster as a walk-on.
reply to #1
Prescott
August 21st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Aaron Lewis being overlooked…So quick do we forget….a couple injuries and we misplace our faith…He is still the guy who ran down Adrian Peterson on OU’s famed sweep play two years ago. He played Tackle manyl times during the injury plagued ’06 season – and performed great (several key plays that helped win the Nebraska game that year). Aaron is a workhorse, who is overlooked by many.