When the LSU defensive line takes the field this season, it will feature many experienced players who coach Les Miles thinks are more than ready to continue the dominance of the formidable Tiger defense.”I like where we are on the defensive line,” Miles said. “We’ve got a proven group as a whole, and we’re going to be difficult to move the football against.”Seniors Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman return as starting defensive ends. Pittman, in his sixth year of eligibility, led the Tigers in both sacks (8) and tackles for loss (13) this past season.Jackson, who recorded 36 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2007, said while the defensive line will miss first-team All-American and Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year Glenn Dorsey, the return of two players to the lineup will provide a new spark.”[Dorsey] was the type of player who brought pressure on both the run and the pass, so replacing him is basically impossible,” Jackson said. “But guys like [junior defensive tackle] Ricky Jean-Francois and [senior defensive tackle] Charles Alexander are doing an extremely tremendous job out there playing hard every day and trying to get better.”Jean-Francois was suspended before the 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame for academic dishonesty and returned for the SEC championship game last season. In the 2008 Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game against Ohio State, Jean-Francois had eight tackles and a half sack and was the defensive Most Valuable Player.”Ricky Jean may be as talented a defensive tackle as we’ve had in our three years here,” said co-defensive coordinator Doug Mallory. “The thing about Ricky Jean is he’s physical and dominating enough to play the inside position, and he’s athletic enough to possibly move to the outside. It was a tremendous setback when we didn’t have him this past year.”A torn anterior cruciate ligament sidelined Alexander after he recorded six tackles and two quarterback hurries in three games this past season. Mallory also emphasized the importance of his presence on the field in 2008.”One of the things you can’t downplay from last year was the loss of Charles Alexander,” Mallory said. “Charles was playing extremely well in the beginning of the year.”Alexander said he is grateful to be playing at all.”In a way [the injury] made me better mentally knowing that everything is not given to you on a silver platter,” Alexander said. “Being able to go out there and practice with my teammates is a blessing. Not too many people come back positive from an ACL [injury].”In the preseason Alexander missed more than a week of practice and returned to the field Monday. Alexander said in Saturday’s game against Appalachian State in Tiger Stadium, he wants to contribute as much as his health permits.    “I just have to play my role. Whatever my body allows me to do, I will do it to the fullest,” he said. “If my body allows me to play 50 snaps, I’ll go out there and play 50 snaps. If I can just go out for one play, I’ll be happy. But if the other guys are ready and are more prepared than me, since I sat out most of the camp, then they deserve to get out there.”Senior defensive tackle Marlon Favorite said Alexander’s return to action boosts the energy of the defensive line.”The biggest things he’s contributed is his leadership, his will and his knowledge of the game,” Favorite said. “Charles is one of those guys who’s a big football head. He’s a real student of the game. He’s extremely passionate about his craft, and when a guy is that passionate, it rubs off on the people around him.”Several young players and backups are also emerging alongside the veterans this preseason. Jackson said he is surprised by their production and talent.”It is mind-boggling how good some of the guys coming from this year’s recruiting class can be in the future, and not just the future, but present-day,” Jackson said. “Some of those guys are making plays out there that veterans make only every now and then. LSU will be in good hands with those guys in there.”Alexander agrees that the potency on defense is encouraging.”This year’s defensive line brings to the table a lot of young guys that are ready to play,” he said. “There’s a lot of depth this year. I don’t think we should skip a beat.”Junior backup defensive tackle Al Woods said he is anxious to contribute his “speed and work ethic” to the team this season, and he said the veteran defensive linemen gave him valuable guidance.”We have older guys who really took us younger guys under their wings and taught us the proper technique and proper things to do,” Woods said. “As young guys we feel like we should never let the older guys down when they ask us to do something. They give their hearts out to the team and to the fans every game.”Favorite said he is expecting a performance similar to the national championship run of 2007.”Glenn is gone, and he was such [an asset] to the defensive line and the whole defense,” Favorite said.—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]