“I feel like we could maybe be one of the best,” he said. “Last year it was kind of a lack of experience thing. I don’t see it this year. The way we’ve been practicing 7-on-7, even in the film room, you don’t see guys making those rookie mistakes that you saw last year. Everybody comes in with their hard hat on. I don’t see any flaws heading into fall camp.”
It’ll be Hightower who assumes much of the leadership role as the elder statesman on defense. It’ll be his fourth year with the program, though a major knee injury in 2009 slowed his rise. Pass-rush specialist Courtney Upshaw, Nico Johnson, and C.J. Mosley fill out the starting linebackers with depth backing them up.
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