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Want to see many of the names that will be featured on Colorado's defensive depth chart next fall?

Go here.

The Buffaloes are going to be young next fall on both sides of the ball, but particularly on defense. Lots of freshmen will play -- guaranteed. And that is by design. Defensive coordinator Greg Brown and head coach Jon Embree made something clear during spring practices to the returning players: "Impress us now, or get replaced by incoming freshmen."

There's a reason for the likely youth movement: The Buffs were lousy on defense in 2011, ranking last in the Pac-12 in scoring (36.5 points per game) and 10th in total defense (439.3 yards per game). Further, Pac-12 quarterbacks feasted on the secondary, which yielded not only the most touchdown passes (34) -- six more than anyone else -- but also grabbed the fewest interceptions (seven) in the conference.

If Colorado is going to move up in the South Division pecking order during the program's second year in the conference, those numbers need to improve.

Colorado finished spring drills last weekend, so it seemed like a good time to check in with Brown to look back and look ahead to the fall.

First off, last year your official depth chart was a 3-4 scheme. This spring, you guys started out with a 4-3. Can you give me a Cliffs Notes version of your base scheme?

Greg Brown: It's really still the same. We're like last year but like most teams can play either, kind of multiple up front.

When you went over film from last year, what stood out to you as issues with the defense?

GB: Too many big plays were given up. Too many points were scored. We had a laundry list of a lot of things. Too many injuries. The roster was thin. It was one of those years we'd like to see not repeated.

The Big 12 is hardly an offense-poor conference. You've coached there and the Pac-12. Were there any adjustments for your players moving from the Big 12 to Pac-12?

GB: Absolutely. Not to take anything away from the Big 12. That's a terrific league that stands on its own merits, that's for sure. But you just have some unique offensive minds in the Pac-12, different styles of attack that we had not seen in the Big 12. There's nobody in the Big 12 that plays the same style as Oregon. Nobody plays the same style as Stanford or Washington. They are all unique and were tough styles to contend with. We've got a lot of offensive-minded head coaches and very innovated offensive coordinators.

You guys were heavy on D-linemen in the recruiting class. How many first-year players do you anticipate playing next fall?

GB: We brought eight (defensive linemen) in. We're thinking at least half that amount, probably higher. Between the defensive line, which is eight-slash-nine because we've got a guy who could go either way, and we've got five cornerbacks, and the great majority of those guys are going to play. They won't redshirt. We're not counting on anybody redshirting. We'll see if they can't do it yet, then they'll have to. But other than that, we have no numbers. Spring ball was a feat to get accomplished. Because of our lack of numbers, we ended up doing so much seven-on-seven because we didn't have the D-line to do it [full scrimmage]. We really didn't have the secondary to do much seven-on-seven,either. It was largely a battle of walk-ons this spring at Colorado. We're welcoming with open arms all the incoming troops because they are going to play.

Give me a couple of names of standouts this spring? Who impressed you?

GB: [Defensive end] Chidera Uzo-Diribe, he had a very good spring. He's got skill. He's got speed. He's got size. And he's tenacious. He's a good player. He played last year for us and was fine but he stepped up this spring and filled a void -- we had two defensive ends graduate. He stepped up and really became a guy. He would be the top dog in the D-line. If there is one other defensive lineman who can play, it's Will Pericak. He's a good player -- steady, consistent. He's been around the block. Has size. He's played for a long time here. Good player. You've got those two up front. After that, there's really nobody to write about [on the defensive line]. We're just waiting on the young kids to get here.

How about linebacker?

GB: Linebacker-wise, our best player is Doug Rippy. He's our captain, a team leader. He ended up missing, from the Washington game on last year, missing the season. He tore his ACL in that game and he was held out of spring ball and can't do anything yet. But we're looking to get him back. Jon Major is another 'backer who is back, has a lot of experience. He's a jack of all trades for us, can do a lot of things. Smart, can rush the passer, cover. He makes plays. He's good. Linebacker is where the most numbers are back. After that, you've got some guys who have played. Derrick Webb has played. He can run and hit. Then there's a smattering of younger kids who have some ability. They just haven't proven anything yet. They're up and coming.

And then the secondary?

GB: We've got one returning guy. That's Ray Polk; he's a safety. Good player. Big kid who can run and hit. Been starting here a long time. Good future in front of him. Ray's issue was he could only do non-contact stuff during spring. He had surgery on a torn ligament in his wrist. So he did seven-on-seven and that was probably it. The next one to talk about back there would be [cornerback] Greg Henderson. He came in as a true freshman and won a starting job. He took advantage of the opportunity and won a job and he kept it all year. He continually progressed every week. This spring, he got better as you'd expect. They come in as freshmen and just look to survive, which he did more than ably. But we're looking for improvement this year and looking for him to be a guy. He's athletic. He can run, he's smart. And he's tough. And as much as anything, he stayed healthy. After him, a guy who is a good player for us, is Parker Orms. He plays nickel, safety and corner. He plays all three. Good athlete, tough kid. He missed quite a bit of the year. He only played five games for us. And he got hurt this spring, which is unfortunate. He tore his hamstring. He played three days of spring then tore that thing. In the five games he played for us last year, we either won or had a chance to win because he allowed us to do things on defense we could not do when he was not in there.

So the freshmen will be in the mix pretty quickly in the secondary, too?

GB: Oh, no question. We told all the kids on defense this spring, particularly on the D-line and in the secondary, "OK, all you guys, here is your chance. This is your chance. We don't want to hear anything in the fall about, 'Hey, I'm not getting any reps.' Here is your chance now! Because believe it or not, in the fall with those kids coming in, they are going to get all those reps. We'll see what you guys can do now.' And here come the new kids. We know who has helped us in the past. For the rest of the spots? Hey, we're plugging in brand new kids and let's go.

How much can this defense improve in 2012?

GB: You can. All these 15 defensive players who are coming in that we're looking to help us, you wish you could snap your fingers and be two years in the future, matured and bigger, strong, faster, eating on the training table, learning how to play. That would be nice. But the reality of it is there are going to be growing pains. These guys have some talent, but they also are going to be true freshmen and will make their share of mistakes. But, sure, we can improve. We have to manage what we're doing. We have an outstanding coaching staff on that side of the ball with Kanavis McGhee and Mike Tuiasosopo. They are great tacticians. As is linebackers coach Brian Cabral. We're looking for improvement.

No! No! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

• Rich Rodriguez and Todd Graham go way back, so the Arizona-ASU rivalry just got more interesting. The Wildcats are eyeballing some QBs.
• Paola Boivin's exasperation in this column about Graham amused me. The whining is thick in Pittsburgh, which recently ditched the Big East for the ACC due to self-interest.
• Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL, but he's still mad about California's Rose Bowl snub of 2004. And the Bears donned burnt Orange to liven up practice.
• Life for Colorado defensive coordinator Greg Brown -- and other Pac-12 DCs -- will be tougher in 2012.
• Oregon WR Josh Huff played through pain this year. RB LaMichael James won't confirm it, but The Oregonian reported he's headed into the NFL draft.
• Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis is unhappy with losing but believes in coach Mike Riley.
• There is no one or thing to blame for Stanford QB Andrew Luck finishing second for the Heisman Trophy a second consecutive year (other than RGIII, maybe).
• Yes, things are a bit odd at UCLA practice. More on Jim Mora's coaching staff.
• Ten reasons for USC QB Matt Barkley to stay for his senior season.
• Thoughts on Hawaii taking a look at both of Utah's coordinators for its head coaching vacancy.
• What was the biggest play of Washington's season?
• The Mike Leach radio tour continues so Washington State fans can hear the mellifluous sounds of Leach's voice. He's the Sinatra of coach chat.

Defensive coordinator Greg Brown thinks Colorado is in for an "eye-opening" experience when the Buffaloes begin Pac-12 play. Or he might be playing a little possum.

Brown, who's beginning his third stint in Boulder after spending the 2010 season as Arizona's co-defensive coordinator, said this when asked about the Buffaloes move into the new conference.

"It's going to be an eye-opener," he said. "Colorado had a small taste of it playing one team: Cal-Berkeley, up there [a 52-7 California win]. Everybody saw the final score from that one. The thing that was just striking going into the Pac-10 that I had no idea of, was just how good the league is. Two things hit you between the eyes in the Pac-10 as a defensive coach. No. 1 is how innovated the offensive coaches are, how innovative those schemes are. Coming from the Big 12, I thought in the Big 12 we had all those quarterbacks that one year, with great teams across the board. So I said, 'OK, what else can the Pac-10 show you that I haven't seen in the Big 12?' Believe me: It was a lot. It was an eye-opener because the schemes and the quarterbacks. The second part would be how fast it is. There is a lot of speed in that league."

For example, Brown said this about the Wildcats 48-29 loss at Oregon, which came after both teams had a bye week.

"They did more with their bye week and came up with more innovative schemes that we had not seen," he said. "My hat is off to Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich, their offensive coordinator. They put in things we hadn't seen. It was a hard go playing those guys up there."

This seems to be a common rhetorical path among the Colorado folks -- coaches and players -- by the way: Lots of praise for the new conference, sometimes at the expense of the old one. As linebacker Jon Major said, the Pac-12 has no "cupcakes." This may be tweaking the Big 12 on the way out or celebrating the Pac-12 on the way in. Perhaps a bit of both.

As for Brown's decision to bolt Tucson after only one season, his answer is fairly straight-forward.

This is is home. He was born in Denver and his father, Irv, a long-time Denver radio personality, is a a former baseball coach and football coach at Colorado. Being back in Boulder means his two young daughters get to see their grandparents regularly. He loves the town and knows new coach Jon Embree well.

"I knew what he would bring to the table as a head coach and I wanted to be a part of it," Brown said.

Oh, and there's no "co" at Colorado. This will be his defense. At Arizona, he not only shared the job with Tim Kish but he coached the secondary, which is coach Mike Stoops' specialty. And Stoops, you may know, is not a laid-back, hands-off head coach.

Considering Brown was the Buffaloes' secondary coach from 2006-09 under Dan Hawkins, he's fairly familiar with his talent. While he uses terms like "hungry" to describe his players, it's clear that there are some areas that concern him, starting with the departure of cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown, who will be early-round NFL draft picks.

"That's going to be tough to replace," Brown said. "There is nobody on the horizon that looks like they are going to be able to step into those shoes immediately. We've got young guys who need to develop. It's going to take some time to do that."

And Brown suspects his defense is going to have to take some chances to pressure opposing quarterbacks, which often means a high-risk, high-reward scheme.

"If you don't have the automatic four guys who can rush the passer without help, then you obviously need to be creative and bring some extra guys and pick and choose your poison," he said. "Because the more guys you bring, the more you're exposed out there. And as I just stated, we've got a lot of young guys back there feeling their way."

Or to be more succinct, Brown said: "Somebody's band is going to play, either their band or our band."

Still, don't see this as Brown fretting about his players ability to compete. While he acknowledges that Oregon and Stanford have separated from the conference a bit -- at least based on 2010 and the 2011 preseason perception -- he sees 10 other teams with legitimate hopes to move up the pecking order.

Said Brown, "After the those two, the rest of the league is so balanced. Anybody can beat anybody."

Injuries are a drag, but they are one of the key elements of spring football. Avoiding them is not unlike adding a couple of five-star recruits.

• At Arizona, Ryan Finley reports safety Adam Hall and running back Greg Nwoko will undergo knee surgery next Tuesday. Just last week, former Wildcats co-defensive coordinator Greg Brown -- now running Colorado's defense -- was raving to me about Hall's potential. The prognosis is both players will be out seven months. The Wildcats are deep in the secondary, but Nwoko's loss puts pressure on the backfield, where injury-prone Keola Antolin is the starter.
• At Arizona State, there's no official word on the severity of knee injuries to cornerback Omar Bolden and receiver T.J. Simpson, but the general feeling isn't terribly positive. Reports Doug Haller, both injuries "are considered serious, and possibly season ending." The Sun Devils probably can find some answers at receiver, and there's experience at cornerback, but replacing a first-team All-Pac-10 cornerback is not easy to do.
• At UCLA, the news is better. Offensive lineman Jeff Baca, who broke his ankle last week, could return "sometime in August," according to the Orange County Register, which could mean a full-speed return in September. Baca, a fourth-year junior, was a projected starter at tackle.
• At Oregon, defensive end Terrell Turner, the lone returning starter on the Ducks' D-line, was on crutches with his lower left leg immobilized in a cast. Coach Chip Kelly previously told the Pac-12 blog that Turner would miss spring practice with a "leg" injury, so this is consistent with the pre-spring prognosis. Dion Jordan has stepped in for Turner with the first-team defense.

While Colorado's pre-spring "depth chart" -- players listed alphabetically in position groups -- isn't terribly informative, it does send a clear message: Nothing will be given; all starting jobs must be earned.

Oh, you have a pretty good idea that guys such as running back Rodney Stewart, offensive guard Ryan Miller, receiver Paul Richardson, defensive end Josh Hartigan and nose tackle Will Pericak -- among others -- are good bets to earn starting jobs.

But new coach Jon Embree is hoping to challenge returning starters and reserves alike with what figures to be a tough, physical spring that might weed out a few pretenders, starting Friday and running through the spring game on April 9.

And, really, considering that no first- or second-team All-Big 12 player is back, it's not like anyone should feel comfortable as the Buffaloes prepare for Pac-12 play.

What did Embree see when he watched the Buffaloes on film? Well, consider this rather stark pre-spring quote from the Boulder Daily Camera.

"What shows up to me on tape was we didn`t play hard," Embree said. "That`s really what showed up on tape. We let the scoreboard affect how we played way too much. Instead of focusing on the next play. You can`t look at the scoreboard. Your job is to beat the guy across from you that play no matter what happened good or bad before it."

Is there anything worse a football player can do than not play hard? The answer is no.

Some guys won't be able to play hard due to injury. Here's the list Embree provided reporters, per the Denver Post: offensive linemen Blake Behrens (shoulder), Mike Iltis (knee) and Maxwell Tuioti-Mariner (knee); defensive back Anthony Perkins (knee); fullback-tight end Matt Bahr (shoulder); and defensive end Chidera Uzo-Diribe (toe). Tailback Brian Lockridge (ankle) and DB Parker Orms (knee) will be limited. Iltis started at center and Bahr was the No. 1 utility back in 2010.

It doesn't appear that spring will be much about X's and O's. Scheme can wait. Embree wants to figure out who can play.

Here are some thoughts before things get started.

Quarterback: Tyler Hansen, who is coming back from a ruptured spleen that ended his 2010 season, is the front-runner because he's got experience and has been productive at times. His competition, JC transfer Brent Burnette and redshirt freshman Nick Hirschman, have no experience.

Running back: The big question is what's the pecking order behind Stewart, who rushed for 1,318 yards in 2010. At 5-foot-6, 175 pounds, it probably wouldn't be good for Stewart to get 25 carries per game over a 12-game season. A power-back complement would be a good thing. One possibility, redshirt freshman Trea' Jones, quit the team.

Receiver/tight end: The Buffaloes are in pretty good shape here, with four of their top-five receivers back. UCLA fans might remember Paul Richardson. As a true freshman, he caught 34 passes and was second on the team with six TD receptions (both numbers would have led UCLA). Tight end Ryan Deehan earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors after catching 25 passes, and there are some young guys who bring athleticism to the position.

Offensive line: Tackle Nate Solder is gone but four starters are back from a group that was fairly mediocre in 2010. The Buffaloes gave up 21 sacks, which would have ranked fourth in the Pac-10, and rushed for 137 yards per game, which would have ranked eighth. The 3.65 yards per carry is pretty uninspiring.

Defensive line: The Buffaloes will be using a base 4-3 after using a 3-3-5 in 2010, so there's a need to add bodies up front. Eight of nine players listed on the final depth chart are back, including Pericak, who earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors, and Hartigan, who led the defense with seven sacks.

Linebacker: Leading tackler Michael Sipili is gone as is B.J. Beatty, but Liloa Nobriga's work filling in for middle linebacker Jon Major, whose season ended after seven games with a knee injury, boosts experience at the position. The spring "depth chart" lists only eight lienbackers.

Defensive back: This will be an area of hot competition, though injuries -- Perkins, Orms -- will be an issue this spring just like they were in 2010. Two cornerbacks spots are open due to the graduation of standouts Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown, and the play at safety wasn't exactly stout last fall. You'd expect new coordinator and secondary coach Greg Brown -- formerly of Arizona -- to do some mixing and matching this spring.

Only Oregon and Washington didn't experience any staff turnover this offseason, so we're running through the staff changes for the other 10 Pac-12 teams.

Next up is Colorado, which fired head coach Dan Hawkins and hired Jon Embree. So there was plenty of turnover.

Team in parenthesis is where the departing coach ended up.

Out
Dan Hawkins, head coach

In
Jon Embree, head coach

Holdovers from Hawkins' staff
Brian Cabral, linebackers
Darian Hagan, recruiting coordinator (was running backs coach for Hawkins)

Out
Eric Kiesau, offensive coordinator/QBs (California)
Darian Hagan, running backs (retained as recruiting coordinator)

In
Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator/RBs
Rip Scherer, quarterbacks/assistant head coach

Out
Romeo Bandison, defensive line

In
Kanavis McGhee, defensive line
Mike Tuiasosopo, defensive line

Out
Robert Prince, receivers (Boise State)

In
Bobby Kennedy, receivers

Out
Ron Collins, defensive coordinator (Ohio)
Ashley Ambrose, secondary (California)

In
Greg Brown, defensive coordinator/secondary

Out
Denver Johnson, offensive line (Tulsa)

In
Steve Marshall, offensive line

Out
Kent Riddle, tight ends/special teams (North Texas)

In
J.D. Brookhart, tight ends/special teams/passing game coordinator

Reaction: There's a lot to like about Embree's first staff if you're a Buffaloes fan. It's still not clear if the defense will run a 4-3 or 3-4 -- or a little of both; the base in 2010 was a nickel (3-3-5) -- so McGhee's and Tuiasosopo's responsibilities haven't been defined. Brown and Tuiasosopo were hired away from Arizona and Marshall from California, and Kennedy coached at Washington before spending his last seven seasons at Texas, so there's plenty of Pac-12 knowledge on staff. Cabral has spent the past 23 years at Colorado, so he provides local continuity, as do Hagan, Bieniemy, McGhee and Embree, who all played at Colorado. Brookhart (Akron) and Scherer (James Madison and Memphis) have head coaching experience, while Embree, Bieniemy, Scherer, Marshall and Brown have significant NFL coaching experience.

If you think Arizona's new secondary coach looks like he could still play when you see him this spring, it's because he could. And probably play well.

Ryan Walters, 25, has been promoted from graduate assistant to Wildcats secondary coach, the school announced Monday, making him the second youngest assistant in the Pac-12.

[Edit note: Utah QB coach Brian Johnson was born on Feb. 16, 1987, while Walters was born on Jan. 21, 1986].

Walters was Colorado's team captain in 2008. He joined the Wildcats last August, and now will replace Greg Brown, who left Tucson for Colorado this offseason. Brown as Walters' position coach at Colorado, where he started 33 games and played in 46.

"After exploring our options I felt Ryan is the best fit at this time for our team," coach Mike Stoops said in a statement. "He brings a youthful energy to the staff and solid knowledge of our system. We're able to continue preparations for spring ball immediately."

Walters is getting this opportunity because Duane Akina opted to return to Texas after just a few weeks in Tucson.

"Obviously I'm more than excited about getting this job and opportunity and the fact coach Stoops has the confidence to hire me," Walters said in the statement. "I have a lot to prove and his is a great situation for that... We have a great group of players in the secondary, a good mix of veterans and young talent. I'll be working tirelessly to get the job done the way it's supposed to get done."

Walters earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press his senior year. He also was picked by his teammates as the club's most valuable player, and the CU coaching staff gave him the Hang Tough Award for overcoming adversity.

A native of Los Angeles, Walters prepped at Grandview High School in Aurora, Colo., as a three-year starting quarterback. His father, Marc, played quarterback for Colorado from 1986-89. He earned his degree in history from CU in December 2008, with a minor in atmospheric science.

Considering only Oregon and Washington didn't experience any staff turnover, it seems reasonable to take a look at the staff changes in the Pac-12 this offseason, starting with Arizona.

Arizona had plenty of movement in and out, starting with one half of the coordinator tandems it used on both sides of the ball in 2010.

Team in parenthesis is where the departing coach ended up.

Out
Bill Bedenbaugh, co-offensive coordinator (West Virginia)

In
Robert Anae, offensive line (Seth Littrell moves up from co-offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator)

Out
Greg Brown, co-defensive coordinator/secondary (Colorado)
Duane Akina, secondary (Texas -- Akina was hired away from Texas for a few weeks to replace Brown before deciding to return to Texas).

In
Ryan Walters, secondary (Walters' promotion from defensive GA has not been officially announced but has been reported by the Tucson Citizen)

Out
Mike Tuiasosopo, defensive line (Colorado)

In
Joe Salave'a, defensive line

Reaction: This is a lot of turnover, but one of the payoffs of having co-coordinators means losing one doesn't force you to change your scheme going forward. Littrell was the playcaller in 2010, so losing Bedenbaugh shouldn't cause too much of a shake-up. More than a few folks think Anae's tough-guy ways will help a rebuilding line discover its mojo. Walters started 33 games at Colorado at safety -- all under Brown -- so his familiarity with the scheme should be high, not to mention that's also head coach Mike Stoops' prime area of interest. Still, it's pretty deflating to go from a highly respected veteran like Akina, who was hired away from a marquee program and has deep Arizona roots, to a rookie coach. Tuiasosopo was a good coach and recruiter -- he will be missed -- but Salave'a has plenty of NFL cred that players will respect. It will be interesting to see how this all meshes together this spring.

Bill Bedenbaugh, Arizona's co-offensive coordinator and line coach, is leaving the Wildcats for West Virginia, meaning Mike Stoops now has two staff vacancies to fill.

Stoops also must replace defensive coordinator and secondary coach Greg Brown. He already hired Joe Salave'a to replace defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo. Both Brown and Tuiasosopo left for Colorado.

All three assistants who left the Wildcats had close relationships to the new head coaches at their next destinations. The Arizona Star reported this on Bedenbaugh's move:

Bedenbaugh and WVU head-coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen were college teammates at Iowa Wesleyan and coaching colleagues at Texas Tech. Holgorsen will serve as the Mountaineers' offensive coordinator this fall, then take over head coaching duties from Bill Stewart in 2012. Bedenbaugh is expected to start his WVU career as offensive line coach, with a promotion possible after the first year.

The Star further reported: "Former BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae is atop coach Mike Stoops' wish list."

When you consider that we are in the final month of recruiting, you'd expect Stoops to be pretty darn busy over the coming weeks.

Eric Kiesau is returning to California to again coach the Bears receivers and coordinate the passing game.

Kiesau, who's been out of a job since Dan Hawkins was fired at Colorado where he served as offensive coordinator since 2009, coached the Bears' receivers from 2002-05 before leaving for Colorado.

Some analysis here that gives the hiring a thumbs-up.

Kiesau will replace Kevin Daft, who was fired two weeks ago. Cal is still lacking an offensive line coach since Steve Marshall left to take the same position at Colorado.

Cal's passing game struggled last year, so Kiesau, who was part of the Bears' staff when the passing game was outstanding, should inject some new (old?) ideas.

Anyone else notice the back-and-forth on coaching staffs between Colorado and the rest of its future conference foes? Colorado previously hired Marshall and two Arizona coaches: defensive coordinator Greg Brown and defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo.

Colorado has hired Texas receivers coach Bobby Kennedy to oversee the same position for the Buffaloes, the Boulder Daily Camera and Denver Post reported.

This seems like an inspired hire by new head coach Jon Embree for a variety of reasons.

First, Kennedy is a Boulder native who went to Northern Colorado, so he knows the state and the university. Second, he's been Texas' assistant recruiting coordinator since 2005. He'll bring extensive knowledge of recruiting that talent-rich state. Third, he knows the Pac-10. He coached two years at Washington and one at Arizona, so he knows Pac-10 recruiting -- read: California -- too.

Kennedy is the eighth assistant Embree has hired. The Daily Camera also reported that a quarterbacks coach from an NFL team is expected to be named next week.

Kennedy joins a staff that includes offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (running backs), defensive coordinator Greg Brown (secondary), offensive line coach Steve Marshall, tight ends coach and special teams J.D. Brookhart, inside linebackers and defensive running game coordinator Brian Cabral, outside linebackers and defensive ends Kanavis McGhee and defensive tackles Mike Tuiasosopo.

Arizona started 7-1 and its defense ranked among the nation's best. Then the Wildcats lost their final four games, and the defense struggled mightily, particularly against the run.

The Wildcats, nonetheless, ended up in the Valero Alamo Bowl, where they will take on No. 14 Oklahoma State, which only ranks No. 1 in the nation in total offense, with 537.6 yards per game.

The Cowboys will be the third top-10 offense the Wildcats have faced this year.

Moreover, Arizona just lost a pair of defensive coaches to Colorado: co-coordinator Greg Brown and defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo. Joe Salave'a is already on board taking over the defensive line, but the secondary will be mostly supervised by head coach Mike Stoops heading into the bowl game.

Further, Stoops has announced that Tim Kish, who shared the coordinator duties with Brown this year, will be the solo defensive coordinator in 2011.

So it seemed like a good time to check in with Kish as he gets ready for the Cowboys potent attack and prepares for the future in Tucson.

So co-coordinator Greg Brown is gone: How does that change your job heading into the Alamo Bowl?

Tim Kish: It just requires me to do a little bit more prep work than I would do normally. But everybody is pitching in. Coach Stoops is pitching in, Ryan Walters, our graduate assistant who helped Greg with the back end is doing an awesome job right now. We are just all rallying around each other and making sure we dot our 'Is' and cross our 'Ts' in our game preparation.

There won't be any "co" with the defense next year. Coach Stoops has said you'll be the coordinator alone. How do you feel about running the defense next year?

TK: It really isn't going to change a whole lot from what we've done here in the past. We'll continue to use our base package, which we've had our previous six years with Mike's brother Mark. The thing we did this year is experiment a little bit with more man coverage and some man-pressures and things we hadn't done previously. We're going to continue to grow but we aren't going to ask our guys to do things that they are not capable of. The key to any good defense is adapting to your personnel. As that progresses, we'll progress.

Were there any challenges specific to being a co-coordinator that you won't face now?

TK: To be honest, I couldn't have had a better co-coordinator to work with. There were no egos. Greg and I kind of plotted out how we were going to handle game preparation each week. Obviously, we overlapped each other in a lot of things we did, so it was an ideal situation for both of us, I felt. It's just unfortunate it only lasted one year. Now you've got to go back and kind of reorganize your thought process. But it's not going to change dramatically. It just puts a little more onus on me being more involved in the full picture, especially in the passing game. I look forward to that challenge.

Let's talk about this season: What's your overall feeling on how the defense played?

TK: I felt like we started strong out of the gate. We were playing with some good momentum. We had some teams there at the latter part of the season that we probably didn't match up as well with as we did earlier in the season. There's no excuses, though. We just didn't play as well. We didn't have that energy and enthusiasm that I thought we played with in the first two-thirds of the season. Part of that was the types of offenses we were facing. But there are no excuses on this end. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We didn't respond the way I expected us to respond at the end of the season.

What went wrong with the run defense late in the season?

TK: I don't know if I can point the finger at any one thing. For whatever reason, we weren't playing as physically as we were early in the season. Everybody wears down; everybody gets bumps and bruises. Those are no excuses for anything that went wrong with the run defense. We just weren't getting downhill as well at the second level, fitting our gaps. We weren't holding onto the double-teams and the scoop blocks as well as we did early in the season. It was a combination of a lot of things. We didn't tackle very well. We missed a lot of tackles at the end of the season. There were a lot of things we have to take a good, hard look at in the offseason and see what we need to do to shore up. We know we want to get bigger and more physical up front. We're not a huge team up front, and yet we have got to be in position where we can control those gaps with our front-seven. It's just something we are going to have to take a good hard look at and evaluate and critique and see what we can do to help that situation next year.

Who exceeded your expectations this season?

TK: I expected the ends [Brooks Reed & Ricky Elmore] to play well and they did. D'Aundre Reed was the biggest surprise of the three [ends] up front. At the end of the season, we were actually starting him as one of the top two guys [ahead of Elmore]. All three of those guys were as advertised. We knew what we were getting out of them over the course of the year. I think [DT] Justin Washington had his moments in there as a freshman D-lineman in there. He played well at times but he wore down a little bit there and got nicked up at the end of the season and didn't play as well. Mana Mikaele up front at nose guard had a pretty consistent year. I was pleased with his effort all year long. Obviously, with the three linebackers, the unknown was across the board. But I think Paul Vassallo exceeded my expectations, all of our expectations, because he was as much a defensive end as he was a linebacker in junior college. He was the most consistent at linebacker. Jake Fischer adds a good dose of athletic ability and flexibility in there. Derek Earls was fairly steady as well. From that standpoint, I was fairly pleased with that group. In the back end, to be honest it was the young guys who garnered the attention. [CB] Shaquille Richardson had some really good moments in there, but he's still learning. Jonathan McKnight is going to be a hell of a corner. He's just coming into his own. And so is [SS] Marquis Flowers. The future bodes pretty well for that back end right now.

Tell me about Oklahoma State's offense.

TK: The All-American wide receiver doesn't drop a ball [Justin Blackmon]. He catches anything within 10 feet of him. He's just smooth. He looks so natural out there running routes. He has a great knack for finding grass and sitting down in the zone and beating man coverage. And the quarterback [Brandon Weeden] has played consistently all year long for them. They are real solid up front -- three juniors, a sophomore and a redshirt freshman starting for them up front. They know how to zone block. They know how to pass protect. It's hard to get to [the QB] because they are not doing a lot of five-step drop. They're getting the ball quickly out of the quarterback's hands. Those two other receivers complement Blackmon because they're steady. I don't know if people call them possession receivers but I know they run good routes and catch the ball as well. Then once you look at all that, they've got a bevy of running backs -- they can throw any one of three at you -- and they can pound the ball on you. We're expecting them to try to run the ball early and then play-action pass us like they do everybody else. We can't give up a lot of after-contact yardage, whether it's in the passing game or run game. So we've concentrated on trying to shore up our tackling.

You guys lost your final four games. What do you think the guys mindset is after the disappointing finish?

TK: We've put that behind us. No question about it, we laid an egg last year at the Holiday Bowl last year. These kids have a lot of pride. You can say, 'What if, what if, what if,' but that's not what we do. We have to learn from our mistakes. We certainly didn't finish the season the way we wanted to. Could we have won a couple of those games? Absolutely. But that didn't happen. Our mindset is totally on Oklahoma State and getting prepared as well as we can for this bowl game, playing hard for 60 minutes.

Checking in with the news items from the weekend that was.

• The big news was UCLA, which announced the firing of two coaches: defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough and receivers coach Reggie Moore. Moreover, coach Rick Neuheisel is clearly conflicted on bringing offensive coordinator Norm Chow back: "The offense is still a place I'm evaluating and Norm as the coordinator is certainly in that category," he said Saturday. As for Bullough, Neuheisel's interest in using more 3-4 schemes on defense -- Bullough was a 4-3 guy -- might suggest he's eyeballing a coach with an NFL background. Here's the LA Times on the firings. And the LA Daily News.
• Arizona won't have co-coordinators on defense in 2011. After Greg Brown left for Colorado, Wildcats coach Mike Stoops decided that Tim Kish will be the solo defensive coordinator going forward. But that means that Stoops still needs to hire a new defensive line coach -- Mike Tuiasosopo also left for Colorado -- and secondary coach, which Brown oversaw.
• USC's defensive line, which already lost Jurrell Casey to the NFL draft, took another hit with the transfer of Hebron Fangupo to BYU. While Fangupo fell short of his early promise with the Trojans -- injuries seemed to be a constant problem -- that's a significant loss of a big body inside as a position of strength starts to thin.
• And, finally, is this guy -- the best prep offensive lineman in the nation -- back in play for a Pac-12 school?

Former Arizona and NFL standout Joe Salave'a has been hired to coach the Wildcats' defensive line, replacing Mike Tuiasosopo, who took a job at Colorado.

Salave'a, 35, who played nine years in the NFL, lettered at Arizona as a defensive tackle from 1994-97, serving as team captain in 1996. He earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 1995, second-team honors in 1996 and was a first-team selection in 1997.

Salave'a has been out of coaching and football for the past year, living in Las Vegas, but was San Jose State's defensive line coach in 2008 and 2009.

"I'm really excited to have him join the staff," coach Mike Stoops said in a statement. "He fits what we're doing very well. He has a solid history and comes highly recommended. Joe built a legacy here and in the NFL that will have an immediate impact on our players and in recruiting."

A couple of things to like about the hire: 1. Salave'a's recent NFL pedigree will get players' attention, both in recruiting and as a coach; 2. Salave'a, a native of Leone, American Samoa, will keep the Wildcats Polynesian pipeline open in recruiting, just as Tuiasosopo did.

Stoops said his 2011 staff won't be complete until sometime in January. He also needs to replace Greg Brown, the Wildcats' co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach, who also left for Colorado.

Salave'a will start Monday and help prepare the Wildcats for their Dec. 29 appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Stoops will take over for Brown in the secondary.

For more, click here. And here.

Colorado took its first significant swing in Pac-12 action, raiding Arizona's staff for two assistant coaches.

Co-defensive coordinator Greg Brown and defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo are headed to Boulder to join the staff of new head coach Jon Embree. The Arizona Daily Star reported neither is expected to stick around for the Valero Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State.

Brown, a secondary specialist, was hired away from Colorado last year by Mike Stoops as co-coordinator with Tim Kish. Tuiasosopo was a member of Stoops' original staff in 2004.

More on what Embree is doing to get things together at Colorado here.