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2015 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.

Kyle Klein's demotion to the second team after he was the talk of spring camp is probably the biggest surprise on today's depth chart, which otherwise fell into place pretty much as has been predicted.
Kyle Klein's demotion to the second team after he was the talk of spring camp is probably the biggest surprise on today's depth chart, which otherwise fell into place pretty much as has been predicted.
Brett Deering/Getty Images

The first official depth chart for the 2015 season was unveiled today. Have a look:

WILDCAT OFFENSE
POSITION NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER
Wide Receiver 6 Deante Burton 12 Stanton Weber 13 Steven West
Left Tackle 55 Cody Whitehair 78 Bryce Fitzner 78 Ajhane Brager
Left Guard 77 Boston Stiverson 56 Terrale Johnson 73 Alec Ruth
Center 71 Dalton Risner 69 Reed Bergstrom 67 Reid Najvar
Right Guard 68 Luke Hayes 70 Will Ash 59 Jason Lierz
Right Tackle 65 Matt Kleinsorge 64 Aaron Bennett 75 A.J. Allen
Tight End 80 Cody Small OR 88 Dayton Valentine 84 Zach Heiman
Quarterback 16 Jesse Ertz 8 Joe Hubener OR 5 Alex Delton
Fullback 48 Glenn Gronkowski OR 38 Winston Dimel 39 Austin Katsorelos
Running Back 24 Charles Jones 32 Justin Silmon OR 3 Dalvin Warmack
Wide Receiver (Slot) 19 Kody Cook 81
Kyle Klein 15 Zach Reuter
Wide Receiver 4 Dominique Heath 2 Andre Davis 82 Denzel Goolsby

WILDCAT DEFENSE
POSITION NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER
Defensive End 75 Jordan Willis 93 Davis Clark 51 Reggie Walker
Defensive Tackle 95 Travis Britz 92 Matt Seiwert 94 C.J. Reese
Defensive Tackle 60 Will Geary 97 Demonte Hood 99 Trey Dishon
Defensive End 45 Marquel Bryant 34 Tanner Wood 90 Joshua Little
Weakside Linebacker 9 Elijah Lee 58 Trent Tanking 47 Myles Copeland
Middle Linebacker 35 Will Davis 41 Sam Sizelove 59 Jayd Kirby
Strongside Linebacker 52 Charmeachealle Moore 57 Colborn Couchman 36 Logan Thompson
Nickel Back (Cat Safety) 10 Donnie Starks 24 Nate Jackson 28 Nate Guidry Jr.
Cornerback 33 Morgan Burns 13 Ryan Mack 5 Jesse Mack
Strong Safety 22 Dante Barnett 21 Kendall Adams 26 Cameron Morgan
Free Safety 4 Kaleb Prewett 29 Sean Newlan 18 Brogan Barry
Cornerback 7 Danzel McDaniel 23 Cre Moore 8 Duke Shelley

WILDCAT SPECIAL TEAMS
POSITION NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER NO. PLAYER
Place-Kicker 16 Matthew McCrane 3 Jack Cantele 40 Ian Patterson
Punter 14 Nick Walsh 9 Mitch Lochbihler 40 Ian Patterson
Punt Returner 4 Dominique Heath 12 Stanton Weber 33 Morgan Burns
Kickoff Returner 33 Morgan Burns 4 Dominique Heath 12 Stanton Weber
Kickoff Specialist 40 Ian Patterson 8 Dillon Wilson 16 Matthew McCrane
Holder 23 Collin Sexton 12 Stanton Weber 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

Quarterback, running back, tight end and fullback all pretty much shook out as we anticipated, with two good options continuing to compete for either starting or backup spots at each position.

The starting offensive line is no surprise, but since recent intelligence suggests Stiverson and possibly Kleinsorge will not be ready to go Saturday with lingering injuries, expect to see Johnson and maybe Bennett or even Ash.

For backups, I tried to assume all of the freshmen will redshirt on the offensive line, but there is some talk that Scott Frantz might not do so. I'll wait until he hits the field for the first time to add him, though.

And finally, the wide receivers. Obviously, Klein's progress in the spring has stalled or he simply has been overtaken by Cook and Heath. The latter development is most encouraging, of course, but man, there's a lot of unproven there.

Defense

Things are naturally much more settled on the defensive side of the ball, what with all the returning starters and backups. The only question mark was whether the coaches were trying to motivate Prewett. The answer? Of course.

The new backups are a little more interesting. It will be fascinating to see how long Clark can hold off Walker, who is almost assured to play. Similarly, Ryan Mack's ascendance is a little surprising.

The omission of the nickelback position entirely has to be an oversight, because all reports are that Starks and Jackson will be there. I don't think this signifies a permanent return to the 4-3 defense, but we might see it more.

The third string is entirely of my own devising. I will adjust it accordingly once we see the true depth play Saturday.

Special Teams

Again, very few surprises here. Other than Tyler Lockett, the entire unit was returning. There sure is going to be a lot of early pressure on Heath to replace the T-Man as a playmaker in two phases, though. Hope he lives up to it.

On the whole, I was struck by how little I was surprised by this depth chart. Almost everything seemed to line up with camp reports and fan expectations, and that almost never happens. Usually, there's at least one curveball in there.

So either the coaches are doing a worse job of keeping a lid on things (unlikely) or we've simply reached the point as a program where the talent is performing to expectations, rather than being passed up by walk-ons left and right.

Either way, it's a welcome sight for a roster nerd such as me to be so correct on so many predictions. Other than the Klein demotion and the possible playing of Delton (which I allowed for in my post), I don't feel I missed much at all.

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