The other side of Phil Steele

Phil Steele put together his list of college football's percentage of returning tacklers and % of returning lettermen.

Percentage of returning lettermen (national rank)

1. Texas A&M - 80.26 percent (5th)
2. Missouri - 79.37 percent (8th)
3. Oklahoma - 75 percent (25th)
4. Texas Tech - 71.23 percent (52nd)
5. Texas - 71.01 percent (54th)
6. Baylor - 70.27 percent (62nd)
7. Oklahoma State - 69.81 percent (64th)
8. Kansas State - 68.18 percent (78th)
9. Iowa State - 64.91 percent (102nd)
10. Kansas - 63.08 percent (109th)

Where KU has one of the most experienced offensive lines (second most), the rest of the team is at the other end of the spectrum relative to the conference and nationally. I will continue to make the comparison to Texas A&M, who also was among the most inexperienced teams a couple years ago after their coaching change, but now is the most experieced. It should go a long ways this season, though it remains to be seen if they can be more than just a contender.

Percentage of returning tackles (national ranking)

1. Texas A&M - 76.32 percent (19th)
2. Kansas State - 75.17 percent (22nd)
3. Iowa State - 72.63 percent (27th)
4. Oklahoma - 69.78 percent (44th)
5. Texas - 65.02 percent (71st)
6. Oklahoma State - 58.51 percent (84th)
7. Kansas - 55.81 percent (94th)
8. Missouri - 55.45 percent (95th)
9. Texas Tech - 53.56 percent (99th)
10. Baylor - 45.77 percent (114th)

It's not quite as bad for the D with respect to performance, though far from great. A&M still gives me hope that we can return to football relavance in a couple years.