The defensive line was supposed to be one of Oklahoma’s question marks. Three starters are gone from last season and that includes one of the best defensive end tandems in school history.

How can that be replaced?

Well, it always helps to replace starters with more starters. Basically, that’s what the Sooners are doing in 2005.

OU had a great set of bookends last season with Dan Cody and Jonathan Jackson. Athletic and experienced, they were among the best tandems in college football.

They’re gone, but Larry Birdine was their equal in many ways last season. He played nearly the same number of snaps as last season’s starters and possesses an abundance of talent.

“He has a chance to be a great one,” defensive ends coach Chris Wilson said.

He was credited with seven sacks and 40 tackles last season and has already been honored as a preseason All-Big 12 selection.

Birdine will get most of the attention from the defensive end spot, but Calvin Thibodeaux rotated with Birdine at the other end position two seasons ago. He was doing the same thing last season until a knee injury forced him out after five games. Now, he’s back.

Birdine and Thibodeaux will join John Williams and C.J. Ah You, a mid-year junior college transfer, as the four-man rotation. Junior Leanar Nixon and sophomore Alonzo Dotson will also compete for playing time.

It’s a situation Wilson likes.

“I think we’ve got a chance to be a real good unit,” Wilson said.

Further, OU’s defensive line gets a major boost inside. The unit lost Lynn McGruder, but returns the rest of last season’s four-man rotation.

Sophomores Carl Pendleton and Steven Coleman and senior Remi Ayodele combined for 29 tackles and four sacks last season. All three will be in OU’s tackle rotation with redshirt freshman Cory Bennett seeing time, too.

But the biggest boost to this season’s D-line will be the return of former all-conference selection Dusty Dvoracek.

Dvoracek played in two games last season before being suspended for the remainder of the year. After being reinstated, he rejoined the team for winter conditioning.