Are we underestimating the talent on Foster's defense?

Bud Foster is the best defensive coordinator in the country. In my opinion, he has been held back in recent years because he hasn't been able to field as much raw talent and athleticism as he did back when Tech was fielding number 1 defenses. After the assistant coach staff changes under Beamer (Loeffler, Shane, etc) and now the new Fuente regime we have seen Foster be more successful at bringing in his targets.

We have spent a lot of time talking about the depth concerns along the defensive line and in the secondary, but are we sleeping on the talent that Foster has in his "starting eleven"?

I believe that this defense could be a great one for Foster if he can keep his guys relatively healthy. Tim Settle and Ricky Walker could be the best run stuffing duo we've seen up front in a long time, and Vinny Mihota's size makes him formidable against the run at defensive end. Mihota did a good job at pressuring quarterbacks last year and Trevon HIll could be poised for a break out year.

I also think the linebacker position is the strongest it's been since the Hall/Adibi years. Motuapuaka has years of experience at Mike and makes the solid plays. Tremaine Edmunds is a beast and could have a special special year at backer.

Mook at whickel is my favorite player on the team, a game changer that is so good I think he's single handidly doomed the Whip position to a novelty that will only be used against Power-I teams. Mook presents so many problems on the perimeter and is so capable in pass coverage I don't see how Foster ever goes back to a third linebacker as his base defense.

The corner position is overlooked. A senior Brandon Facyson, with Greg Stroman and Adonis Alexander... that's pretty strong to me. Adonis has the skills to take the next step and I love his size when he comes up in run support. Terrell Edmunds at Safety is a future NFL player according to Bud (and I agree). Devon Hunter has the chance to come in and start at Rover as a freshman. He has the potential to be really, really special at that position.

Call me crazy, but I think a top 10 finish for this defense is absolutely feasible.

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