the depth chart is in

On offense, Harland Gunn beat out Joel Figueroa for the starting right guard job.

Figueroa has previous starting experience; Gunn does not.

"(Gunn) is a real strong guy," OL Orlando Franklin said Thursday. "He back squats the most on the team, probably benches the most on the team."

Asked if Gunn’s physical presence translates into UM being able to run the ball more powerfully, Franklin said, "Yeah, he’s a real good run blocker. But Joel Figueroa is also a real good run blocker. (Gunn is) just the guy who’s been doing real good throughout camp. So he’s in there. He gives us the best opportunity right now."

Asked what happened in fall camp that gave Gunn the edge to start, Franklin said, "It was real close between them. He made it a hard decision. Some guys will come in and be content sitting behind someone that’s been there. But he actually made it a real hard decision on the coaches this year to see who was going to start at that right guard position."

Franklin is roommates with Figueroa. Asked how Figueroa took the news that he’s a second-teamer, Franklin said, "He keeps working hard every day. Maybe it’ll be like last year where they had a rotation of who started each week; it wasn’t a set starter."

While it wasn’t that much of a surprise, Leonard Hankerson earned a starting job over Travis Benjamin at receiver opposite LaRon Byrd.

"I’ve just been working hard through the whole off-season saying I have to get better," Hankerson said. "I’m just happy it’s paid off."

DB Randy Phillips said of Hankerson that "He’s the leader at the wideout position. He’s an older guy. He really works hard. He’s been lighting things up in practice. He totally turned thing around (from drop problems a year ago). Hank, he worked himself into that starting position because a lot of the guys are way more talented than him, but he gets the job done. He’s a hell of a blocker. He’s catching the ball. He’s in the film room. He’s doing all the little things right."

On defense, a slight surprise was that Josh Holmes and Marcus Forston are listed as co-first teamers. Many expected Forston to emerge as the starter.

Of course, he still could start.

Another surprise: At right cornerback Demarcus Van Dyke and Sam Shields are also listed as co-first teamers. Shields just began playing the position this year.

JoJo Nicolas also got the nod at safety over Vaughn Telemaque, which surprised some.

"That’s experience (over inexperience)," Phillips explained. "Coaches do things for certain reasons. JoJo has played a lot of football. JoJo may start, and Jared Campbell might come in. Or Jared might start and then JoJo comes in."