you have to ask would it be fair to Ferrara to keep moving him around like that? probably not. He made the move last year in the interests of helping the team, and he put in a lot of work to learn the OL and OL technique. Reportedly he did well and has the body to be a good OL under this system...to move him back right now for the sake of depth, would be short term thinking imo and ultimately may hurt him in the long run as a player trying to develop. IMO, he could always switch back to the DL in a pinch if needed in an emergency, but to do it now and this quickly would not be in his best interests as a player, nor in the teams best interests. Try to develop other players at the DL first and move Ferrara back only if an emergency need happened.
He should stay on offense.
There will be an open guard slot next year with the departure of Moosman, meaning he'll be fighting it out with Barnum (and others) to start.
I remember the coaches being asked a similar question and saying something along the lines of, "D-line depth isn't as bad as you think given scheme, and he's an o-lineman now. 4evaaaa"
It would be a minor miracle if he became a reliable defensive lineman by kickoff, after a year and a half of cramming for the OL. So the bigger picture is that if he's pressed into defensive playing time, that would imply injuries or incompetence on the D line such that the season would be functionally over anyway.
Better to let him work toward the future in a position that he seems to be suited for.
At either spot he'd be fighting for the 2-deep. The number of listed DTs (from today's updated roster) was a surprise. It appears they are listing those 260 lb. DEs as DTs now and not Strongside DEs.
At true DT he'd be competing with Campbell, Saggesse, Helmuth for the spot behind starter Martin and at the DT/DE he'd be compteting with Banks for the back-up spot after Van Bergen.
So, he's probably going to have a better chance playing in 2010 if he stays behind Moosman who graduates
And I agree with just about everything you all said. I just thought he would have a better chance at seeing the field again if he were to switch back. It's possible that he may never play another meaningful down if he stays on offense (although I hope he does win a spot, because it was a very unselfish thing he did last year). It seems if he switched back to D he would certainly get some serious playing time. I mean Carson Butler was on the field at DE at the end of last season (I know, different coordinator, system, etc.) I've also heard that defensive line, particularly DT, is the easiest position to learn. Not sure if this is true, but Mike Martin was doing pretty well as a true freshman last year (again different system, etc.)
Yeah, DT is probably the easiest position - from a mental standpoint - to learn. I'm sure Ferrara could be adequate if he switched back to defense, but he has a chance to start in 2010 at OG, whereas on defense I think he'd be a permanent backup with Martin ahead of him.