Spring Practice 2018 Position Battle: Linebacker
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Tom Allen and the defensive staff have a decision(s) to make at linebacker Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
As I wrote in my position preview, after a few seasons of certainty at the linebacker spot, the Indiana Hoosiers are presented with a massive question mark and none of the candidates have more than minimal experience at the FBS-level. While IU has some talented options to fill the voids left by Tegray Scales and Chris Covington, there is little doubt the Hoosiers will have some growing pains in the middle of their defense. There is at least a chance that linebacker could turn into a weakness that forces some regression in IU’s defense. However, there is also a real chance young players step up and grow into their roles and Indiana finds a solid nucleus of players that can star for the next few seasons. It’s a position of great intrigue and great opportunity and one we’ll be watching closely all offseason.
IU signed four freshmen linebackers in their 2018 class but unfortunately for the Hoosiers, none of those three are early-enrollees so they won’t be in Bloomington for Spring practice. As a result, it’s difficult to project any of the three as starters. The trio of Aaron Casey, James Miller and Cam Jones are extremely talented though and I think they’ll be right in the thick of things before too long. First up, we’ll take a look at players that will be participating in Spring practice and have a legitimate shot to win starting positions.
The Candidates
-Reakwon Jones – 6’2”/230 – RS-JR – Jones appeared in ten games during the 2017 season and had a career-high three tackles in IU’s win over Charleston Southern. He is an athletic player with a frame suited for the position but he’s been unable to really find his way on the field much during his time in Bloomington. That being said, the physical tools are present for him to be an effective linebacker and he’s no longer behind “no doubt” starters at the position. Spring practice will go a long way towards telling us how close Jones is to locking down one of the starting positions or if he’ll be a player that never quite finds his way onto the field for consistent snaps. Jones must show that he is capable of penetrating into the backfield and standing up against the run. I believe he can be an above-average pass rusher but whether or not he can win a starting job is going to hinge on his performance against the run.
-Mo Burnam – 6’2”/235 – RS-FR – One of the biggest linebackers on the team, Burnam is a bit of a mystery entering the 2018 season. He came to IU as one of the more well-regarded prospects in the 2017 class and he was a three-sport letter winner (football, basketball and track and field) in high school. Ideally, Burnam steps up during the spring and emerges as a starting linebacker. What must he do to make that happen? Well, we know very little about him and how he was performing on the scout team but he’s going to have a few different things. First, he’s going to have show he’s quick enough to patrol the middle of the field and get into the backfield. Second, he’ll need to show he’s physical enough to be a real asset against the run. His size suggests he could be a very good run-stopper but there’s no way to be sure until we see it on the field against quality running backs, something the Hoosiers offense can provide this Spring.
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-Michael McGinnis – 6’2”/230 – RS-SR – After a very productive pair of seasons at ASA College, McGinnis transferred to IU and was immediately eligible as a JUCO transfer. McGinnis was expected to give the Hoosiers some much-needed veteran depth at the position to give Scales and Covington breaks during games but he rarely saw the field and didn’t really look the part when he did. He played in eleven games but only posted seven total tackles. The first thing he needs to show is that he has the speed to play linebacker in the Big Ten. It didn’t appear so in 2017 but again, it was a very limited sample size so it’s not fair to come to conclusions. The second thing he’ll need to show the coaches in the Spring is that he can be physical enough against the run to assist IU’s defensive line in that phase of the game. I fully expect McGinnis to have a much better 2018 season but I don’t know if the jump all the way to starter is in the cards.
-Thomas Allen – 6’3”/230 – RS-FR – Thomas Allen redshirted the 2017 season and was a two-time Scout Player of the Week. He was offered by a number of FBS programs coming out of Plant High School in Florida but he chose to come play for his father in Bloomington. He has the ideal build for a linebacker in the 4-2-5 scheme and physicality and “motor” are not in question. The biggest thing he needs to show the coaches is that he is quick enough to go sideline to sideline against the spread offenses the Hoosiers will see.
-Kiante Walton – 6’2”/225 – RS-SR – Walton is a converted safety that has battled injuries during his time at IU. The Georgia native appeared in only eight games last season after transitioning to linebacker but the Hoosiers were loaded at the position so he was a depth piece behind Scales and Covington. He’ll have a chance this spring to prove he’s ready to step up and see the field for significant snaps as a senior. Walton is fast and has good coverage skills for a linebacker but can he be stout enough against the run and physical enough when pressuring the line of scrimmage or defending the run?
Predictions
I hate even predicting how this position will play out because to be blunt, this is a lightly-educated guess at best and a shot in the dark at worst. I think IU will have 3-4 quality linebackers emerge and do a nice job after some growing pains but predicting who those players will be is very difficult. That being said, there’s no harm in predicting and if I’m taking that step, I’ll do my best to get it right.
Starters – Reakwon Jones and Cam Jones
I’ll go with the natural talent of the Jones’ as my starters. While they share a last name, they are not related. I do think they could form a nice partnership and would be an athletic duo that could cause some problems for opposing offensive lines when they chose to pressure the backfield. The concern would be how they’d do against the run.
2nd Team – James Miller and Mo Burnam
As I wrote earlier, I believe McGinnis will have a much stronger 2018 season and his veteran presence would be an asset to what will otherwise be a very young group. However, I don’t think he’ll be one of the primary options due to the talent the coaching staff brought in this offseason. James Miller is a potential star that oozes raw potential. Burnam is a total wild-card but he came to Bloomington as a talented prospect and I have no reason to believe he hasn’t progressed. I think he can be an asset against the run that sees increased time against run-heavy teams as he grows into the college game.
Contributors – Thomas Allen and Kiante Walton
Both of these guys will find themselves contributing on special teams and seeing snaps at linebacker. I don’t believe it will be a significant number of snaps but I do think they’ll be a part of a rotation that is more spread out than it was in 2017. Partly because the overall depth is improving, partly because the top-end talent is not quite as good with the departure of Scales and Covington and partly because I believe Tom Allen wants to do whatever possible to keep players fresh as IU tries to finish close games.
Redshirts
That leaves both Aaron Casey and Micah McFadden to redshirt, develop on the scout team and try to build towards the 2019 season.
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