The emergence of Beckwith and Adams has changed this defense.

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where this defense goes in the next 2-3 years

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The NFL?

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The emergence of Beckwith and Adams has changed this defense.

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There's definitely a correlation there; that's for damn sure. Beckwith has ridiculous speed for a man his size, and Adams has gotten better & better every game. Seemed like anytime there was a big play on D against KY, 33 was right there.

Glad they made the change, the defense is much better with both of them in the game! Alexander also!

Agreed. Can't help but feeling that the presence of Valentine would have meant something as well. Heck, even if he's only as good as DG that would be pretty good. From what I've heard he's already the most disruptive DT on the team. Adams has star power; no doubt about it. Nice to see a five star guy actually live up to the billing. LF has to a lesser extent but the Illinois MLB has been disappointing thus far.

This defense is going to shock the world Saturday.

I wouldn't say Beckwith has emerged. He's marginally better than Welter thus far. He's still very young, though, and should have been starting all along.

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We're not longer soft up the middle

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The return of QT and our last two opponents have helped in this regard too.

So pump the brakes a lille. We have Ole Miss and Bama coming up next. They are a little better test than UF and KU.

I thought Dwayne Thomas and Hunter were our best players before Thomas got injured, with Kwon looking in from his linebacking spot.

Now, it looks like Hunter, Kwon, Beckwith and Adams have stepped forward - but they're not only looking to be the best players on defense, they're making the rest of the defense play better.

I don't want to forget RR and Tre, because they're still doing what they do - it's just teams haven't tested them as much as our run defense, thus far. Run defense is firming up, big time.