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Defensively, this group was nearly non existent in the final three games last season which resulted in the Jayhawks losing their final seven games. Six starters return from last year's squad and new defensive coordinator Carl Torbush will implement and completely different scheme that players will have to adjust to. The strongest position on this side of the ball is undoubtedly linebacker. Freshman All-American Huldon Tharp was a pleasant surprise racking up 59 tackles in just seven games. Drew Dudley is the top tackler from a season ago as the senior collected 88 stops and three sacks. Corner Chris Harris anchors a secondary that gave up 245 yards passing/game. His 84 tackles were third on the team, which is a sign that offenses are breaking through the front seven easily. DE Jake Laptad provides the rush upfront, totaling a team high 6.5 sacks. He will be relied upon as the main pass rusher once again in 2010. The past two seasons, KU has come close to allowing almost 400 yards/game in the air it out Big 12. That number will have to drastically reduce if a winning season is in store for the Jayhawks.
Turner Gill has a great opportunity to start a winning foundation in year one with a generous schedule. Missing both Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12 is surely avoiding two losses this season. Hosting Georgia Tech in the second game will be no walk in the park and fans should get a pretty good idea of how their defense will play this year. Only three games are truly on the road and two of those include Iowa State and Baylor. I don't expect the Jayhawks to challenge for a Big 12 North title this season, but I could see them pulling off a 6 win season.