Steve Kragthorpe won’t be able to sneak up on anyone this season.

Tulsa’s first-year coach guided the biggest turnaround in Division One football in 2003 when the Golden Hurricane — which won a total of two games in 2001 and 2002 — finished 8-5, wound up second in the WAC at 6-2 and made its first bowl appearance in 12 years.

Better things could be ahead for Tulsa in Kragthorpe’s second year. The Hurricane return nine starters on defense and eight on offense.

The three starters lost on offense — leading rusher Eric Richardson, top receiver Romby Bryant and lineman Austin Chadwick — won’t be easily replaced.

“We lose some good football players,” Kragthorpe said. “We have to find a left tackle, since we lose Austin Chadwick, and we lose our most productive wide receiver in Romby Bryant. Those are two areas we need to address on the offensive side of the football. On defense, we lose some quality linemen that we have to replace. And we need to continue to find more quality defensive linemen that can play.”

Junior Uril Parrish could be the answer at running back if he can return from a knee injury that forced him to miss the final four games last season.

Kragthorpe, the WAC Coach of the Year, was an offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills before taking his first head coaching job at Tulsa. He worked his offensive magic with the Hurricane, who averaged 30.8 points per game last season.

Quarterback James Kilian passed for 2,217 yards and 22 touchdown passes as a junior. His targets include junior Garrett Mills, one of the nation’s best tight ends.

Improving the defense will be key for Tulsa, which allowed an average of 27.8 points per game and ranked 99th in the nation against the run. Georgia Tech embarrassed Tulsa, 52-10, in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Tulsa started 3-4 last season before winning its final five regular-season games. The Hurricane will open with back-to-back games against the Big 12 Conference’s Kansas and Oklahoma State, both on the road.