Ten To Defend: Charlie Strong

With ten days left until Western Kentucky gets in the way of Florida's celebration of the 2007 title, Alligator Army presents `Ten To Defend.' We all know it won't just be Urban, Percy, and Timmy "The Rhino" rebuilding this team. So, who's going to help them out? Let's look behind door number one. It's Charlie Strong! Wooooo!

Last year, Strong and Greg Mattison created a defense that was the perfect blend of speed, power, and insanity. Now, he has to rebuild it. And he doesn't have much to build with. We all know how nine defensive starters are gone. But the key for Strong is making sure that the existing guys are able to hold up for 60 minutes 14 times.

Derrick Harvey will anchor the line likely opposite Jermaine Cunningham. Harvey was a big part of the rotation last year but sophomore Cunningham only appeared in six games. To me, I'm more worried about the middle because Clint McMillan and Javier Estopinan are older, but lack the playing time.

The D-line looks solid when compared with the linebackers and secondary. All we know is Brandon Spikes is the MLB, Dustin Doe on the outside, and Tony Joiner is strong safety.

Strong has to be patient with these kids. We don't need to go 13-1 again (but that would be nice). Instead, Strong has to figure out a way to preserve these kids and protect them in a scheme where their inexperience won't kill the team. I don't know if that means the occasional 3-4 or a variation of the cover 2. I'm a blogger not a defensive coordinator.

Forget allowing seven points to Ohio State. If Strong can keep this defense competitive, it will be his best work yet.