The Sooners’ defense will be a huge question mark this season, just as it was last year when the “D” had many folks scratching their heads. As is the case with the defensive line this spring, uncertainty is the dominant theme at linebacker.

There’s talk that defensive coordinator Mike Stoops is going to switch from the 4-3 to a 3-4 base defense. Whatever he does, he will need to get some consistency from his second line of defense. It got so bad with his 'backers a year ago that Mike was throwing out seven-man secondaries that proved useless against mobile quarterbacks.

One of the bigger developments this offseason at the position actually involves someone who won't be there this spring. Middle linebacker Tom Wort seemed lost in adjusting to Mike’s defensive scheme, prompting Wort to leave early for a possible stint in the NFL.

Just who is Jay Boulware, the latest hire by Bob Stoops to coach the tight ends and special teams?

For starters, he is a Longhorn. He was an offensive tackle for Texas in 1991-95. Can’t find any information if he was a starter or not, but he’s definitely a Longhorn. I guess we shouldn’t chastise him for that now that he has come over to the good guys. The Burnt Orange fans probably see things differently.

After he got a degree in Austin, he hung around and coached tight ends as a graduate assistant for the Steers from 1994-96. Pat Fitzgerald was one of his pupils. (No, not the one who coaches Northwestern.) Fitzgerald was an AP All-American in 1996, so there's that.

The Oklahoma Sooners are preparing to open up spring practice on Mar. 9 facing arguably more questions than any OU squad in recent memory. Jake Trotter of ESPN's SoonerNation joins Homerism for a podcast to preview all the latest news leading up to spring camp, including the addition of three new faces to the coaching staff.

Jake and I cover:

*What ultimately motivated Bob Stoops to make significant changes on the sidelines.

*What Bill Bedenbaugh, Jerry Montgomery and Jay Boulware bring to the program.

*The potential move to a 3-4 defense.

*Corey Nelson's disappearance in 2012 and how he can get back on the field.

*Assessing the odds in the quarterback derby.

*And more.

(Subscribe to Blatant Homerism's Podcast through iTunes. Please rate and review the show if you get the chance, too. Thanks.)

Other than quarterback, no other position this spring will face the same level of fan and media scrutiny as Oklahoma's defensive line. Everything we previously knew about the DL position has changed in the last three months.

Jackie Shipp is gone, replaced by Jerry Montgomery. Plus, no more waiting for multi-year contributors Stacey McGee or Jamarkus McFarland or Casey Walker to reach their potential.

The biggest question, though: What defensive scheme is OU going to run, 4-3 or 3-4?

The Sooners have a stacked backfield that is two-deep solid at both fullback and running back. Goals for this spring should include developing an expanded role for fullback Trey Millard and figuring out how OU's ball carriers will mesh with the planned involvement of the quarterback in the running game.

Fullback

Millard (6-2, 256, Sr.) and Aaron Ripkowski (6-1, 260, Jr.) are punishing blockers. Millard also has impressed running (33 carries, 198 yards) and catching the ball (30 receptions, 337 yards, 4 touchdowns). He’s not easy to bring down.

There may not be two position groups for Oklahoma on more diametric ends of the certainty spectrum this spring than wide receiver and tight end.

Mystery men at tight end

The TE position seemed almost non-existent in 2012, and there won't be any new signees coming to the rescue. If you're looking for a silver lining, we'll get a chance to see what new tight ends coach Jay Boulware can do.

In his first spring practices at Oklahoma, new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh will have four starters back from last year and a few players who have playing experience as well. He recently told Jessica Coody of Sooner Sports TV that the best way to play the line is to be tough, physical, mean and nasty.

“I’m going to coach them hard and I expect them to be great,” he said.

But the problem isn’t that OU’s front wall isn’t tough and physical, because they had been tremendous in protecting Landry Jones in the pocket. The problem is that they hadn’t been mean and nasty when it comes to opening running lanes. Bedenbaugh, a former West Virginia line coach, is more of a spread offense guy, and the Sooners need to learn how to block better for the running game to develop.

Bob Stoops’ hire of Jerry Montgomery as defensive line coach doesn't seem as baffling as hiring Bill Bedenbaugh as o-line boss.

Montgomery and Bedenbaugh are supposed to be great recruiters. That’s fine and good, but a lot of time high school studs don’t turn into football stars on the collegiate level. Like Bedenbaugh, Montgomery's ability to coach 'em up is debatable.

Montgomery spent the last two years as Michigan’s d-line coach, and two years prior to that, he held the same position at Wyoming. Coaching the d-line the past four years for the Wolverines and Cowboys, Montgomery has produced no All-Americans and only one first-team all-conference honoree (tackle John Fletcher in 2009 at Wyoming). Defensive end Josh Biezuns was named to the Mountain West's second team a year later, and tackle Mike Martin was a second-team all-Big 10 honoree at Michigan.

Editor's note: We wanted to give the Sooners' 2013 class a little time to marinate before we really dug in. We've given each position a grade for both the quality of players acquired and how well OU satisfied its personnel needs. Enjoy.

(Editor's note: With the Sooners set to kick off spring practice on March 5, BH is doing a position-by-position preview. First up, of course, are the guys under center.)

All the scuttlebutt this offseason has been that the Sooners will have a mobile quarterback barking the signals this season. Some fans are excited to see Landry Jones graduate, because he couldn’t dodge defenders.

The most experienced of the group, Drew Allen, is reportedly looking to transfer. The leading candidate, Blake Bell, is the reason for the “Belldozer,” relieving Jones in short-yardage situations – most of the time getting a first down or touchdown.