Sunday, July 24, 2005

Preseason Depth Chart (Defense)

The UMass preseason two-deep Depth Chart is out. See it here . The UMass Fanzone Blog thinks the two-deep is very close to what will be the starting lineup against Richmond on 09/01/05.

Below is the Defense. A * symbol denotes a returning starter. A number after the name () indicates a note.

Pos. No. Player Yr. Height Weight

Notes:

1 Williams was All-A10 last year. With a stronger supporting cast, he could be an All-American in 2005

2 John Hatchell is a transfer from Lehigh. He is the brother of LB Jason Hatchell. John Hatchell set UMass bench press records in 2004. Hopefully he will make a major impact at DT for UMass

3 Leonard started in 2004. Separated his shoulder against JMU. He should regain his starting position in 2005

4 Schweighardt started at DT last year. He transferred from Ball State in 2003

5 Tikum is a Tri-Captain and the subject of a prior blog

6 Walker changed his number. He played as # 56 in 2004

7 Brandon Smith backed up James Ihedigbo RJr. 6-1 202*, who played well for UMass last year, but had several game suspensions.

8 Shannon James is a UMass Tri-Captain and an All-American. See a previous blog on him.

9 Steve Costello is a former starter. He sat out 2004 with a Medical Redshirt.