Ed Oliver, Cortez Broughton, Nate Harvey, and Michael Dogbe headlined the defensive line for First Team All-Conference in the AAC. All are gone. In fact, only one defensive lineman returns out of the All-Conference selections in 2018 (Brendon Hayes).
New starters are needed nearly everywhere in the conference, and there doesn’t seem to be much elite talent. No one could ever match Oliver’s play, but there will be some solid depth on certain teams. Until you get to the bottom two teams, every squad has at least one guy that’s good.