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DEPTH CHART ANALYSIS: Week 1

BracketCat breaks down the depth chart by position group, and looks at what he predicted correctly and what he didn't quite see coming.

Bill Snyder pulled out some interesting motivational tactics in this year's inaugural depth chart, especially for the late-arriving JUCOs. I will be interested to see how it all shakes out.
Bill Snyder pulled out some interesting motivational tactics in this year's inaugural depth chart, especially for the late-arriving JUCOs. I will be interested to see how it all shakes out.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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

WILDCAT OFFENSE
POSITION NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER
Wide Receiver 16 Tyler Lockett 7 Judah Jones 13 Steven West
Left Tackle 55 Cody Whitehair 76 Ajhane Brager 78 Bryce Fitzner
Left Guard 77 Boston Stiverson 70 Will Ash 67 Reid Najvar
Center 66 B.J. Finney 69 Reed Bergstrom 71 Dalton Risner
Right Guard 61 Drew Liddle 68 Luke Hayes 74 Kason Hostrup
Right Tackle 65 Matt Kleinsorge 64 Aaron Bennett 75 A.J. Allen
Tight End 85 Zach Trujillo 88 Dayton Valentine OR 80 Cody Small
Quarterback 15 Jake Waters 8 Joe Hubener 17 Jesse Ertz
Fullback 48 Glenn Gronkowski 89 Zach Nemechek 34 Adam Weber
Running Back 24 Charles Jones 20 DeMarcus Robinson 28 Jarvis Leverett Jr.
Wide Receiver (Slot) 14 Curry Sexton 2
Andre Davis 12 Stanton Weber
Wide Receiver 6 Deante Burton 19 Kody Cook 81 Kyle Klein

WILDCAT DEFENSE
POSITION NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER
Defensive End 44 Ryan Mueller 90 Laton Dowling 34 Tanner Wood
Defensive Tackle 99 Valentino Coleman 97 Demonte Hood OR 60 Will Geary
Defensive Tackle 95 Travis Britz 91 DeAndre Roberts OR 92 Matt Seiwert
Defensive End 75 Jordan Willis 45 Marquel Bryant 9 Elijah Lee
Strongside Linebacker 52 Charmeachealle Moore 9 Elijah Lee 47 Myles Copeland
Middle Linebacker 35 Will Davis 58 Trent Tanking 3 D'Vonta Derricott
Weakside Linebacker 21 Jonathan Truman 32 Dakorey Johnson 6 Isaiah Riddle
Nickel Back (Cat Safety) 15 Randall Evans 10 Donnie Starks 28 Nate Guidry Jr.
Cornerback 33 Morgan Burns 23 Cre Moore 30 Corey Jackson
Strong Safety 22 Dante Barnett 2 Travis Green 17 Weston Hiebert
Free Safety 20 Dylan Schellenberg 4 Kaleb Prewett 29 Sean Newlan
Cornerback 7 Danzel McDaniel 24 Nate Jackson 13 Jesse Mack

WILDCAT SPECIAL TEAMS
POSITION NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER
Place-Kicker 3 Jack Cantele OR 16 Matthew McCrane 40 Ian Patterson
Punter 9 Mitch Lochbihler 14 Nick Walsh 40 Ian Patterson
Punt Returner 16 Tyler Lockett 14 Curry Sexton 2 Andre Davis
Kickoff Returner 16 Tyler Lockett 33 Morgan Burns OR 14 Curry Sexton
Kickoff Specialist 40 Ian Patterson 8 Dillon Wilson 16 Matthew McCrane
Holder 23 Collin Sexton 9 Mitch Lochbihler 14 Nick Walsh
Long Snapper 46 Dalton Converse 43 Drew Scott 38 Dalton Harman

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!