By Don Williams | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Texas Tech safeties coach Carlos Mainord might have gotten spoiled this season. With the rare luxury of having five seniors for two positions, Mainord never had to give a snap to anyone who didn’t have calls and coverages down pat.

Darcel McBath and Daniel Charbonnet were first-team All-Big 12 Conference, and Anthony Hines and Jordy Rowland entered in five- and six-defensive back packages. Their departures will leave an immense rebuilding job in the spring.

Forgive Mainord if he couldn’t immediately recall who will take part in it.

“Well, let’s see, who’ve we got?” he said with a chuckle.

After a pause, Mainord said that Franklin Mitchem, who will be a junior next season, and Cody Davis, who will be a redshirt freshman, will be the first two options. Also involved will be Brett Dewhurst, a non-scholarship junior-to-be who turned some heads this season with his tackling on kickoff coverage.

“Franklin and Cody are both big guys – 6-2, over 200 pounds,” McBath said. “They’re good hitters. They’re good in coverage. They make plays on the ball. Dewhurst (6-foot, 194 pounds) is a shorter guy, but he’s a great tackler, and he just has a knack for the position. He’s played it for three years now, so he kind of has a head start on those other guys.”

With a shallow pool of returnees, Mainord acknowledged that moving a player from another position could be considered in the offseason. But he said it hasn’t been discussed yet.

One-time prize recruit Steven Harris, who was suspended for this, his sophomore season, might be another option. Tech coach Mike Leach said Tuesday he’s heard Harris plans to return, but Leach didn’t sound ready to embrace him.

“We’ll see. It’ll be (reviewed) after the first of the year,” Leach said. “I haven’t heard anything from him. I’m not holding my breath. We’re going to worry about the kids that are here. I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t met with him. I don’t know anything about his status.”

The Red Raiders benefited from productive safety play this fall. Between them, McBath and Charbonnet totaled 11 interceptions and 13 pass breakups, and they ranked second and sixth on the team in tackles.

Come spring, the shortage of experience and depth will make Mitchem’s development important. The 6-2, 208-pound Klein Collins product had a solid bounce-back season in 2008 after an injury made his 2007 a lost cause. During the regular season, he led Tech’s special-teams “Top Gun” competition, a chart that assigns points for contributions such as coverage-unit tackles, good blocks and big returns.

It’ll be imperative that Tech get more than special teams play from him next season.

“Probably the biggest thing is I need to get my confidence level high and maintain it,” Mitchem said, “because if I don’t have a high confidence level I won’t be able to play to the best of my abilities. Then also probably I need to work on my leadership skills, because I’m going to be one of the old guys now after the seniors leave, so I need to be able to help all my teammates out whenever I can.”

Mainord said Mitchem meets all the position’s requirements.

“He’s got the height. He’s got the speed. He’s got the size,” Mainord said. “Plus, he’s a smart guy. I think what he needs is just more reps and more reps and more reps, and he’ll have a chance to be a good player.”

Davis, the former Stephenville standout, signed with Tech in February and laid the groundwork this fall to get into the mix soon. Mainord said Davis has shown improvement in individual drills and makes plays in the team’s weekly Thursday scrimmages.

“He’s excelled in it most every week,” Mainord said. “He’s made plays, intercepted the ball. He has a good feel for the game back deep. He’s got some natural instincts.”

In substitution packages this season, it was common for Tech to put four senior safeties on the field at once – McBath and Hines deep, and Charbonnet and Rowland underneath. Though those were the best options this season, the extra DBs don’t have to be safeties. Cornerbacks LaRon Moore and Taylor Charbonnet, who both return next season, have gotten practice time in the underneath coverage positions.

Moore and Charbonnet fit the profile of nickel backs, who often are shorter players with the quick change of direction needed to cover slot receivers.

In addition to what’s on hand, the Raiders also have several high school safety prospects in their class of oral commitments: Daniel Cobb from Killeen Ellison, Will Ford from Abilene Cooper and Terrance Bullitt from Garland Naaman Forest. Denton Ryan’s Yahshua Williams has spent more time at cornerback, but has a safety’s height.

Regardless whether any of them play next season, Mainord will have nowhere near the level of experience he’s grown accustomed to with his seniors.

“They do a lot of things that you don’t have to harp on them about doing, because they’ve been there and they do it,” he said. “You get young guys, you have to keep making them do things until it’s a habit.”