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van Smith, I believe Penn State has two offensive linemen with All-Big Ten potential. In fact, this line has the potential to be Penn State's most physically dominant unit in a decade. Penn State's defense also has to perform, but don't expect it to duplicate its showing last fall. The 2012 defense allowed only 128.4 rushing yards and 353.4 total yards per game. Hill and Mauti were first-team All-Big Ten selections, Hodges was named second-team All-Big Ten, and Deion Barnes was named the league's top defensive freshman. Hill, Mauti and Hodges are now in the NFL, and defensive coordinator John Butler has to replace six starters. It won't be easy. At Hill's defensive tackle spot, either redshirt junior Kyle Baublitz or redshirt freshman Austin Johnson must emerge beside senior DaQuan Jones in order for Penn State to have a solid presence in the middle of the line. The tackle with the most potential is Johnson. O'Brien was impressed with his performance in spring practice and said that the coaches think Johnson "has a chance to be a really, really good player, and hopefully sooner rather than later." At defensive end, Barnes must improve on his performance as a redshirt freshman and show All-Big Ten potential. His attitude in the spring indicates that he understands the situation. Barnes worked hard with veteran defensive line coach Larry Johnson to improve his play against the run. "I don't want that to be a weakness where other teams say, 'We're going to run at No. 18. He's a pass rusher. He can't stop the run,' " he said. "So I think I'm doing a better job now." But Barnes can't do it himself. C.J. Olaniyan has to continue to build on the performance that earned him recognition as the team's most improved defensive player in spring practice. Senior Brad Bars and redshirt sophomore Anthony Zettel, along with redshirt freshman Evan Schwan must push Barnes and Olaniyan for playing time, too, if Penn State hopes to come close to its conference-leading 34 sacks in 2012. At linebacker, the No. 1 priority is to keep everyone healthy. This is the thinnest unit on the team, offense or defense. Behind Glenn Carson at middle linebacker, Mike Hull at Will outside linebacker and Nyeem Wartman at Sam outside linebacker there were only two scholarship players providing depth this spring: Ben Kline and Gary Wooten. That means incoming freshman Brandon Bell has to be ready to play this fall. An injury to one of Penn State's starting linebackers could bring a premature end to any hope of a 9-3 finish. That's one reason why Butler and O'Brien revamped the secondary, moving Adrian Amos from the boundary cornerback position to strong safety, where he will compete with returning starter Stephen ObengAgyapong. Sophomore Trevor Williams and redshirt freshman Malik Golden were moved from wide receiver to cornerback and strong safety, respectively. Williams won the starting boundary cornerback position and will team with sophomore Jordan Lucas, corecipient of the Jim O'Hora Award this spring, at the starting cornerback spots. Senior Malcolm Willis and redshirt junior Ryan Keiser will compete for the starting free safety position. The flurry of off-season moves should improve the versatility of Penn State's secondary, allowing the team to deploy a 4-2-5 defensive scheme in certain passing situations. That will ease some of the depth problems at linebacker. Butler's new alignment in the secondary could be a decisive factor, allowing Penn State to play much better on defense than expected. I never said it would be easy for the Nittany Lions to produce a 9-3 record this fall. A lot of things will have to go right. But I think if anyone can do it, it's O'Brien and his coaching staff. 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