⚡ CFB Dashboard

Defense was OK, 2 years ago, but looked like it was heading the right direction. Took a step or two backwards last year. I like what Semore, the other assistant coaches, and the players have been saying. They created a lot of havoc against the OL in the spring game, but McKenny was out. Petty was also out, but it sounds like his injury isn't going to be completely healed by the beginning of the season. There has been no official statement from GT, but just reading between the lines of what GP1 has said, and having some interaction with Jarvis Davis on YouTube. JD hasn't said anything specific, just that he doesn't think that Petty will be a big contributor in 2026 (and considering he was on the special teams OL and was in the OL rotation for the offense last year as a true freshman, that seems to indicate either an injury or disciplinary issue, and I'm leaning towards the injury issue). But the DL still created a lot of havoc with the OL. I'm hoping that means that the DL is improved, but we'll have to wait until the Colorado and Tennessee games to find out. I am expecting that this defense will improve some in the run and pass game this year, as they were terrible last year (but did make the occasional big stand). But the big improvement will probably come in takeaways. If our DL is better, and the DB's lool better, and the LB's improve back to 2024 level, then this should be a much improved defense over last year. The starters last year may have been a little better than this year, but it looks like the defense has a lot more depth, and we're not losing a step when the backup comes in. GH