"We?ll begin are close look at the 2007 football team today, starting with back of the defense and work our way forward.

Defensive Secondary

Starters Returning: Safeties Kris Bartels and Taheem Acevedo, cornerback Corey Small.

Starter lost: Cornerback Rickey Bethel

That right there is a solid lineup. Bartels with his crushing hits, Small was solid as a sophomore and will be better next year, Acevedo beat out Troy Pindell and had a good season. Combined they had 10 interceptions and 171 tackles.

The trio were in the top six in tackles, with Bartels No. 2 (69), Acevedo No. 4 (56) and Small No. 6 (46).

The only question is who replaces Rickey Bethel, and the good news is there are plenty of options. Gedel Merzius got some time at corner, and Eric McIntosh would have gotten more but he broke his foot in the fifth game of the season.

Two players you haven?t heard of should also be in contention. The Voice and Kirk Hoza are both high on Tavious Polo (5-10, 146/South Plantation) and Tarvoris Hill (6-0, 170/Miami Central), both who redshirted and will be stating their cases this spring.

Polo and Hill performed well against the first team offense during practices, and shined in the Toilet Bowls held every Sunday during the season. While The Voice admits the name ?Toilet Bowl? is a bit demeaning, those scrimmages for redshirts and players who did not play on Saturday?s are very valuable in building the team.

Defensive Secondary Outlook: Very Good"


Sun Sentinel/Ted Hutton

I like what Ted has been writing about the Owls recently and by him going over every section of the team like this, we'll have something to talk about for the next few days at least.