whatshouldicareabout
Active poster
When looking ahead to 2015, there's been a lot of discourse on the OL and DL, and rightfully so. Those two position groups are losing 4 starters each, including 2nd stringers who contributed in 2014. However, the LB group for 2015 will be the same as the secondary for 2014: 1 starter returning and virtually no depth at the position group. Even though we're only losing 2 players (Shaq and Timu), LB might be our weakest position group in terms of combined talent and experience.
Players who are returning in 2015 who have experience at LB are:
Feeney (SR) . . 60 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INT, 1 FR
Littleton (SR) . 37 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FR
Lawyer (SR) . . 20 tackles, 1.0 TFL
Bierria (SO) . . 35 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1 sack
Victor, Constantine, and O'Brien mainly played on special teams last year, so I excluded them from the list since this is players with experience playing at LB.
Yup, that's it. 4 players with LB experience. Based on the above list, it looks like LB will be the thinnest position group of 2015. And unless all three of the aforementioned special teamers step up in the spring and secure starting or 2nd-string status, we'll be seeing Lewis or some of the true freshman on the field this fall, not unlike our secondary in 2014 which played 5 freshman (which is why we loaded up on LB in this recruiting class).
Because of the inexperience here, and at the DL, and all the underclassman in the secondary, Feeney and/or Littleton will need to be the leader of the defense next year. We only have 5 seniors on defense, and the only one that was a starter last year was Feeney (although Littleton started at RUSH under Sark before moving to OLB with Petersen). Even though Feeney and Littleton are both seniors with starting experience, they'll be two of the most important players to watch this spring because they need to step into a leadership role if we hope to have a decent defense next year. And if we hope to have a decent defense in 2016 and beyond, we need to see something more out of Bierria and the other SO LBs.
Players who are returning in 2015 who have experience at LB are:
Feeney (SR) . . 60 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INT, 1 FR
Littleton (SR) . 37 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FR
Lawyer (SR) . . 20 tackles, 1.0 TFL
Bierria (SO) . . 35 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1 sack
Victor, Constantine, and O'Brien mainly played on special teams last year, so I excluded them from the list since this is players with experience playing at LB.
Yup, that's it. 4 players with LB experience. Based on the above list, it looks like LB will be the thinnest position group of 2015. And unless all three of the aforementioned special teamers step up in the spring and secure starting or 2nd-string status, we'll be seeing Lewis or some of the true freshman on the field this fall, not unlike our secondary in 2014 which played 5 freshman (which is why we loaded up on LB in this recruiting class).
Because of the inexperience here, and at the DL, and all the underclassman in the secondary, Feeney and/or Littleton will need to be the leader of the defense next year. We only have 5 seniors on defense, and the only one that was a starter last year was Feeney (although Littleton started at RUSH under Sark before moving to OLB with Petersen). Even though Feeney and Littleton are both seniors with starting experience, they'll be two of the most important players to watch this spring because they need to step into a leadership role if we hope to have a decent defense next year. And if we hope to have a decent defense in 2016 and beyond, we need to see something more out of Bierria and the other SO LBs.
