DEPTH CHART ANALYSIS: Week 1

The first official depth chart for the 2014 season was unveiled Tuesday. Have a look:

By way of analysis, I'll hit the high points for each major position grouping.

Offense

As I stated Tuesday, the offensive line looks nothing like my wishful thinking. I correctly pegged the starters as Whitehair, Stiverson, Finney, Liddle and Kleinsorge in my analysis, though.

That right side worries me considerably. The sooner Hayes, Bennett and Allen get with the program, the better.

Cook beating out Klein is a surprise and makes me wonder if the latter might be injured. It's good to see Judah Jones stepping up, though, and I figure Davis is the fourth receiver in a four-wide set.

Valentine pulling into a tie with Small probably is confirmation that the latter is injured. I imagine the coaches would like to redshirt Valentine if they can, but they might not be able to do so. Leverett is definitely injured, too.

Congratulations to Hubener for claiming the backup spot and earning a scholarship in so doing. It does make you wonder about our evaluation process with the other QBs, though. Next year's battle is going to be a doozy.

As usual, I took a few liberties when filling in the blanks for the third string, although much of it is based on practice reports and the spring game. As the season progresses, I will update these to reflect playing-time patterns.

Defense

Notice is served, Clinkscales, Derricott and Riddle. You can't miss the entire summer and part of fall, then just waltz in here and expect to be handed a starting spot. You have to earn it. Now get better — we need you all in Big 12 play.

Willis beating Bryant is encouraging for him, but probably the death knell for Bryant's starting hopes. Here's hoping we see Wood displace Dowling sooner rather than later. Lee is there because there are no other scholarship DEs.

How sick is a six-man defensive tackle rotation that still doesn't include Clinkscales? This actually might be the deepest position group on the entire team. When was the last time we could say that? Could we ever?

The secondary is about where I projected it, with the exception of the light-speed progress being shown by Prewett.

Snyder positively gushed over this kid yesterday, and it's clearly not a matter of if he will pass Schellenberg this season — it's when. Newlan might actually have been passed up, and who saw that coming a year ago?

I'm also glad to see Moore and Starks outperform my expectations. It's about time we began building young depth in the defensive backfield.

Special Teams

McCrane pulling into a tie with Cantele, with the kicker who finished off last season (Patterson) nowhere to be found, is fascinating. I will be very interested to watch who actually attempts kicks and kickoffs Saturday.

I told you Lochbihler would win the punting job. With his frame, four years ahead of him and Sean Snyder as a tutor, he has the potential to go down as one of the all-time greats.

Don't read too much into the returner positions. I think a lot of guys are going to get looks there this month.

What are your thoughts on the first depth chart of the season? Let's get some discussion going in the comments!