This is a group we need to see something out of this season. And there's a good chance that some freshmen will see time here, but it will be up to the two 'veterans', Uzo-Diribe and Parker. 'Veteran' may be a strong word when referring to Parker, who only logged a few tackles last season, but he has a year under his belt and will be counted on to help lead this unit this season. Let's look at who we've got.
***Update: It was announced that Jagne, along with WR Peyton Williams will greyshirt and will enroll in classes in January
Defensive End / Jack Linebacker
- Chidera Uzo-Diribe, Jr - CUD will be counted on to be a leader in 2012, and offseason reports seem to hint that at least on the field, he will be able to live up to it. He's an fantastic athlete and has spent chunks of the offseason training with the skill players as opposed to the linemen because he's so fast. We're going to need him to develop into more than a situational kind of player this season, though, because there is no experience behind him whatsoever. It sounds like he's taken the necessary steps to join the elite pass rushers in the conference, and that is a very good thing for the Buffaloes.
- Andre Nichols, So - He has added some weight since joining the squad, which is good. He showed some burst in the spring, so we'll see if that has helped him at all this summer. He's a walk on who is listed 2nd at left DE and 3rd at the Jack/right DE spots, but that's before throwing the incoming freshmen into the mix. We'll see where he sits on the depth chart come September.
- Juda Parker, So - He only logged about 100 snaps as a true freshman last year, but will be one of the greybeards at his position this season. He's currently the starter on the left side, so hopefully that means he will spend a little less time standing up and more time with his hand on the ground. He's powerful for his size and has long arms, which is good for a pass rusher. I think he will definitely be pushed by some of the incoming guys, but at least going into August, he has one of the starting spots.
- Thor Eaton, Fr - He is a walk on and is listed behind CUD at the Jack spot. Don't know anything about him, except that he may win for best name on the team.
- Samson Kafovalu, Fr - He is one of the 7 incoming freshmen who will join the defensive line. I'm excited about him, but we'll see where he ends up. I have him as a DE for now, but it's possible that after some time, he moves inside. We won't know much about how all of these guys fit into the mix until we start getting reports out of camp, but I definitely wouldn't count Kafovalu out as a guy who could contribute right away.
- Johnny Stuart, Fr - I like Stuart a lot as an edge rusher. I don't think he'll be a guy that comes in and competes for a spot right away, but I think in a couple of seasons, he will make his mark. He's long and as he works on developing his base and his quickness, he could develop into a real terror off the edge.
- De'Jon Wilson, Fr - One of the DC-3 and a guy that I can't wait to see take the field. Wilson is a guy that I think flew under the radar in this recruiting class, but could be one of the real steals. Something about his film just had me on the edge of my seat and I'm hoping that he is able to make an impact early in camp.
It's a shame that Kisima Jagne's status is still up in the air, because he really would've solidified this group, but I'm still optimistic. It's tougher to make the adjustment from HS to college for guys that play along the line because of the size difference inside, but all three of the new guys should be big enough and pretty good athletes, so hopefully that helps. We need at least two of them to be able to log a good amount of snaps this year, and it would be helpful if they were able to make a difference. I really do like CUD and Parker on the edge, but they're going to need some help.
***Update: It was announced that Jagne, along with WR Peyton Williams will greyshirt and will enroll in classes in January
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