I have been watching old games from the end of the Tress era to now and the talent level from then to now is staggering. It seems like forever ago since the Pryor days and you can really, really see the difference in recruiting. I really forgot how much of a struggle that 2012 season was even though the team when undefeated. That defense was getting shredded. I can't blame all that on Tress recruiting either. The coaching was very subpar that season. Those early Meyer teams didn't have the quality of defense coordination as the Tress teams. IMO Tress's defensive coaching staff did much more with the talent that was there then Meyers. I loved Coach Tress and I think he would have kept beating TTUN and competing for B1G titles. Nationally it would have been tough though. The defensive line is were I see the biggest difference. Tress had some individual standouts on the D-Line but the depth we are seeing now is something Tress couldn't match. That is starting to be the case at a lot of position groups. Meyer is stacking 4 and 5 stars at each position. Meyer has put together a pretty good coaching staff too. Linebacker coaching might be the weak link right now. That was always a strength under Tress. Special Teams is another area that was always a strength under Tress. I was never worried about field goal kicking or kick off coverage but those have become an adventure at times recently. Overall though the depth on defense is where I have noticed the most improvement.

[Mod Edit - Clarified title (and fixed typo)]