Arkansas enters spring practice without many questions on offense. The team returns its huge offensive line and both 1,000-yard rushers, which is what most people think about when the Razorbacks come to mind.

But coach Bret Bielema got his start as a defensive coach, and the Arkansas front seven was one of the best in the country this year.

The Razorbacks are trying to climb out of last place in the SEC West, and to do so the defense must overcome the losses of three NFL draft picks in the front seven. Brooks Ellis is a strong candidate to inherit Martrell Spaight’s role at linebacker.

But who will demand double teams like Trey Flowers and Darius Philon on the defensive line? Who will emerge this spring for the Hogs?

A recent Times Record article suggested junior defensive ends JaMichael Winston and Deatrich Wise Jr. as the anchors for the defensive line. But I think if Arkansas has one player who can become an All-SEC caliber player in 2015, it’s sophomore-to-be Bijhon Jackson.

Listed on the spring depth chart as the starting nose guard, Jackson has slimmed down to 6-foot-2 and 324 pounds. Although he played in all 13 games as a true freshman, he didn’t get many chances to make a big impact on defense because of the veteran talent the Razorbacks featured.

The No. 1 recruit from the state of Arkansas in the 2014 class, Jackson chose Arkansas ahead of Alabama and several others. ESPN recently named him the Razorbacks’ best breakout candidate for spring practice. He’s got the size and strength to command double teams and ensure that the linebackers, even without Spaight, can run downhill and attack ball-carriers, which is the biggest key to defensive coordinator Robb Smith’s defense.

The team’s projected starting defensive ends are bulkier, while Jackson is in better playing shape entering spring ball.

“I’ve seen Bijhon get a little quicker on his feet. He’s kind of moving with that weight on him. (Baby fat) done moved out the way. He’s kind of rolling now,” Winston said, according to the Times Record.

Through two days of spring practice, no one has gotten more individual praise from Arkansas and Bielema.

Taiwan Johnson is another interesting player at defensive tackle for the Razorbacks. Junior college transfer Jeremiah Ledbetter is a popular pick to win the starting job by the season opener, but Johnson is listed with the first team to start the spring. He managed 4.5 sacks last season, most of them early in the year, tying him for second behind Flowers.

Johnson (6-foot-2, 273 pounds) probably is the best pass rusher on the 2015 defensive line, which is filled with bruisers built to clog running lanes and shove offensive linemen into the backfield.

Wise and Winston made a combined five tackles for loss and two sacks last season. Neither of them should put up numbers like Flowers, Philon and Spaight (a combined 37.5 tackles for loss in ’14). But they’re nearly identical in size with long levers at 6-foot-4 (Winston) and 6-foot-5 (Wise Jr.), and should do well preventing offensive lines from setting a hard edge in the running game.

But expect Jackson to emerge into the biggest star, a space-eater who can control games by collapsing the interior of an offensive line and causing disruption.

“We got a lot to prove. It’s been on us since spring ball started, since winter workouts started,” Winston said of his position mates. “We’ve been out to prove that we can be a top notch D-line with those guys gone. We’ve just got to prove it this fall.

“We say ‘D-Line Pride.’ Our first edge, our first rule on the Arkansas Edge is to play with physical and mental toughness. Trench Hogs is kind of a motto we have between us. That’s what we do.”