April 20, 2009  Defense makes strides during spring  Defensive
coordinator Ted Roof didn't see much from his first-team defense
on Saturday.  After all, the unit was on the field for just 12
plays during A-Day.  That didn't matter. Roof saw enough from
his first-teamers to be pleased with the progress they made
during spring practice.  "A lot of mistakes we got to clean up,
but I was real proud of the first group," Roof said. "I thought
they played well. They played a total of about 10-12 snaps, so
they didn't get to play a whole lot. I was real proud of the
effort.  "Overall, I was pleased with how we became more
physical as the spring went on. It was a very physical spring
but a physical spring by design. From an overall standpoint, I
was pleased with that. I was pleased we gang tackled well."
Roof knows there are major depth concerns, particularly at
linebacker, defensive end and, to a lesser extent, safety.
Because of those issues, he said incoming freshmen would
certainly have opportunities to work the