Fall practices are well under way, and teams are preparing for the 2010 season. Fans are optimistic about incoming freshmen and first-year starters replacing players who graduated or were drafted.
The Pac-10 Conference lost 28 players to the NFL draft, and a few others signed free-agent contracts. The ability of teams to replace these star athletes will determine much in the 2010 season.
Dexter Davis
The ASU defense lost a key piece when defensive end Dexter Davis graduated. Davis started every game for four years and was the only Sun Devil to earn First-Team All-Pac-10 Conference honors in 2009.
ASU will look to senior defensive tackle Saia Falahola and junior defensive lineman Lawrence Guy to anchor the defensive line.
Jahvid Best
Cal will try to replace running back Jahvid Best, one of the most explosive players in the conference last year. Best, a two-year starter for the Golden Bears, rushed for 867 yards and 12 touchdowns last season before a concussion prematurely ended his season.
Cal will turn to junior running back Shane Vereen, who has shown he can carry the load, as he rushed for 444 yards and four touchdowns in the three games Best missed last year.
Toby Gerhart
It is always hard to replace a star player, but it is even harder when that player was the focal point of his team’s offense and the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
Stanford will rely on sophomore running backs Tyler Gaffney and Stepfan Taylor to replace Toby Gerhart’s 1,871 yards and 28 touchdowns, the bulk of the Cardinal offense.
Jeremiah Masoli
The Oregon Ducks will be without quarterback Jeremiah Masoli this season, as he was dismissed from the team. In 2009, Masoli led the Ducks to a Pac-10 championship with 2,815 total yards and 28 total touchdowns.
UO will try to replace Masoli with either Nate Costa or Darron Thomas. Costa is the only one of the two to have started a game in his career.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
