Phil Steele - 2008 Returning Starters

[MeanGreen61]

Listed below are the returning starters for all the major college teams. We have even expanded the list to not only include the offensive & defensive starters but also the special teams. Of course, there are 11 starters on offense & defense, and on special teams we list 2 possibilities (Kicker & Punter). An (*) next to the offense means the quarterback is returning.

When I look at a team for the upcoming year one of the first factors I look at is the amount of returning starters. Last year there were 9 teams in the NCAA that had 18 or more returning starters and 7 of the 9 improved their record from 2006. Making the list were teams like Virginia which went from 5-7 to 9-3 and Florida Atlantic which went from 5-7 to Sun Belt Champs. Teams with 17 returning starters included Central Florida which went from 4-8 to CUSA Champs and Illinois which went from 2-10 to the Rose Bowl!!

On the other end of the spectrum there were 33 teams last year that had 12 or fewer returning starters and of the 33 only 8 managed to improve their record. Some of the less experienced teams that really dropped last year included Notre Dame which had just 9 returning starters and went from the Sugar Bowl to 3-9! Nebraska went from 9-4 to 5-7 with just 11 returning starters and Northern Illinois with 12 returnig starters went from 7-6 to 2-10.

RETURNING STARTERS

http://www.philsteele.com/FBS%20Info/earlylook2008.html