OFFENSE

Tulsa has had one of college football’s top-five offenses in three of the past four seasons. But when Bill Blankenship was named as Todd Graham’s successor as head coach last January, the biggest question was the following: Would the no-huddle, fast-paced offense continue?

“We are not going to go backwards,” Blankenship says. “We’re going to try to improve and take (the offense) to new heights.”

Senior quarterback G.J. Kinne, Conference USA’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, will guide the new attack. Kinne, who began his career at Texas, threw 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions as a junior. He’ll have one of the nation’s top weapons in wide receiver Damaris Johnson, who is the NCAA’s all-purpose career yardage leader through three seasons.

Former walk-on Trey Watts enters the fall as the starting tailback. The son of legendary Oklahoma Sooners quarterback J.C. Watts will be complemented by sophomore Ja’Terian Douglas and junior Alex Singleton. Junior Willie Carter will take over at H-back, a potent weapon in the Tulsa offense.

The entire starting offensive line will return and is anchored by seniors Tyler Holmes and Clint Anderson on the left side.

DEFENSE

New defensive coordinator Brent Guy, a former head coach at Utah State, has installed a 4-3 base defense, which differs from the 3-3-5 scheme that has been in place at Tulsa for years. Guy will look to improve a defense that has struggled against the pass in recent seasons.

The position group to watch will be the defensive line. While Guy is pleased with his starters — defensive ends Cory Dorris and Tyrunn Walker and tackles Darrell Zellars and Derrick Jackson — depth could be an issue during this transition.

Curnelius Arnick led the team in tackles last season and has shifted to middle linebacker. Shawn Jackson, an aggressive tackler, will play weak-side linebacker, and DeAundre Brown (who sat out last year for academic reasons) will play Cane, a hybrid linebacker-safety.

Safety Marco Nelson earned some Freshman All-America recognition last season after recording six interceptions. Safety Dexter McCoil also had six picks, and that pair will bring experience and athleticism to the secondary. John Flanders has earned one corner spot, while Lowell Rose has emerged as a starter on the other side.

SPECIALISTS

Johnson returned an average of 50 kickoffs in his first two seasons, but only had 34 opportunities last fall as opponents chose to kick away from the potent speedster and C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year. Kevin Fitzpatrick returns for his fourth season as the placekicker and has hit two game-winning field goals in his past 14 games. Cole Way, a 6'8" true freshman, is expected to handle the punting duties.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Tulsa finished No. 24 in the final AP poll, and with 15 starters returning, expectations would typically be high. But the non-conference schedule is a chore. The Golden Hurricane will play at Oklahoma (Sept. 3), host Oklahoma State (Sept. 17) and travel to Boise State (Sept. 24) in the season’s first month.

The important thing is to avoid letting the tough early stretch dictate what happens the rest of the year because the road is paved for Tulsa to perhaps win its first C-USA title since 2005. The Golden Hurricane have only one cross-division game (UCF) on the road, and they host SMU and Houston, the two teams they will be battling in the West.