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By the second and final week of practice, the defense largely was doing what Greg Hudson had preached, swarming to the ball and wreaking havoc by getting pressure up front and being active elsewhere. "I think we've made huge strides as a defense, but we're still learning," linebacker Sean Robinson said. "If you can limit the mental mistakes and not beat Who's next? With a starting defense that returns largely intact from a year ago, there likely won't be many opportunities for freshmen to get many snaps in 2013. The skill positions on offense, though, could be a different story. Even though Rob Henry will be the team's starting quarterback, rookie Danny Etling still could see the field this season. He struggled at points in training camp with accuracy and grasping the challenging language of the new offense, but Etling's arm strength still is impressive, and it helped him connect on some difficult throws. If this team gets off to a slow start, Etling may get his chance. And he could be throwing and handing off to some classmates. DeAngelo Yancey was impressive in camp, especially in utilizing his size and showing nice hands. Dan Monteroso was expected to get snaps, too, but then broke his collarbone. It's likely that a freshman will show up in the backfield at some point in 2013. Dalyn Dawkins could have the best chance, based on the reps he was getting with the first-team offense late in camp and his performance in the jersey scrimmage. He showed some nice burst through the hole, as well as good moves to break tackles after getting in space. Keyante Green has done some of that, as well. David Yancey was on campus in the spring, but then he was a tailback and now he's likely the No. 2 fullback behind Kurt Freytag. Perhaps the freshman most apt to play will be the one who picks up pass protection best and shows the best hands — the Boilermakers will utilize the backs in the passing game often this season. — Stacy Clardie 15 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 1 yourselves, you're going to have a chance. If you've got people flying around and have guys running to the ball, good things are going to happen" The first-team offense was the victim of some of that attacking defensive style, struggling at points in camp to protect the quarterback and execute positive plays. But by the end, Rob Henry led the group in a productive scrimmage and hopes that unit will be truly clicking by the opening game Aug. 31 at Cincinnati. "The offense is pretty complex. We're still learning. We're still making sure we can go through 90 plays or however many we're going to have to do every Saturday and get through them and not have any mental errors," Henry said. "The offense is not easy. But we're getting better and we will … continue to improve and come Aug. 31, we'll be ready." Unresolved Camp didn't produce too many surprises with personnel movement on the first-team units on offense or defense, but 15 days didn't necessarily help settle the biggest questions either. Exiting the spring, it was unclear which players would emerge as the top guards and as a starting outside linebacker. The latter question seemed to be answered immediately when Andy James Garcia was out with the 1s on Day 1 at strongside linebacker in place of veteran Will Lucas. Garcia impressed coaches with his high motor and aggressiveness, despite being undersized, and he was happy he seized the opportunity to grab a spot with the first team despite being only a redshirt freshman. "I'm a small guy, but you have to play big," Garcia said early in camp. "If you go into the battle defeated mentally, what makes you think you're going to win the battle actually in the fight? No matter how big the guy, how fast, how strong, you always have to go in, punch him in his mouth, go as fast and as hard as you can. My low center of gravity, my quickness, my leverage, I use all that to my advantage. "I'm not here to disappoint. I'm here to surprise people and prove them wrong. They see me out there, they don't think I can do anything. Well, I'm here. I'm here for a reason. I'm holding down my Sam spot f