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LB/DE Mark Johnson (official thread)

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Apparently he is progressing pretty well...look for him to be a major part of the LB rotation if not the starter at SLB (or splitting time with Terry).
 
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He has progressed very much since last year, but there is no chance that he gets any meaningful playing time this year. With the depth we have (Freeman, Laurinitas, Grant, Homan, Terry, Spitler, and Gibson) there is no way he fits into the rotation at the sam, leo, or mike. Especially with Grant and Gibson looking like complete animals so far this summer.
 
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smitty03;899164; said:
He has progressed very much since last year, but there is no chance that he gets any meaningful playing time this year. With the depth we have (Freeman, Laurinitas, Grant, Homan, Terry, Spitler, and Gibson) there is no way he fits into the rotation at the sam, leo, or mike. Especially with Grant and Gibson looking like complete animals so far this summer.
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Freeman, Laurinaitis, and Grant are starters, leaving Homan, Terry, Spitler, and Gibson as Johnson's competition for the two-deep. Coaches have said he can play either MLB or SLB, so since Homan plays WLB, that leaves Spitler and Terry as WLB and SLB with game experience (Gibson redshirted). Spitler didn't seem to get a whole lot of PT other than special teams last year...that's either because he didn't play much or didn't do much, on defense. Terry seemed to play more often and is a senior, so if Johnson is to play much it'll more likely be at MLB. If he outplays Spitler, I don't see how you can say "there is no chance that he gets any meaningful playing time this year".
 
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Spitler is getting rave reviews. No way Johnson is beating him out for any PT unless he's lights out in camp and Spitler slacks off.

I was just hoping he was at least in the 3 deep. He's got the talent to be a good one if he really dedicates himself.
 
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OregonBuckeye;899201; said:
I was just hoping he was at least in the 3 deep. He's got the talent to be a good one if he really dedicates himself.
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He's in the 3-deep by default, seeing as we have only nine scholarship LBs.

My point is to not write anyone off this early into fall camp...hell, this time last year I was butting heads with a ton of folks on whether or not Laurinaitis should even start.
 
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MililaniBuckeye;899205; said:
My point is to not write anyone off this early into fall camp...hell, this time last year I was butting heads with a ton of folks on whether or not Laurinaitis should even start.
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I can agree with that. All signs just seem to be pointing towards Spitler retaining his spot as backup Mike.
 
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MililaniBuckeye;899205; said:
He's in the 3-deep by default, seeing as we have only nine scholarship LBs.

My point is to not write anyone off this early into fall camp...hell, this time last year I was butting heads with a ton of folks on whether or not Laurinaitis should even start.
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Count me into that group...I saw Kerr starting in the middle and Grant starting over Laurinaitis. Anyways I'm with Milli...the depth chart can change with a few good practices and it's all about who wants it that day. It's almost positive that Lauranaitis, Freeman, and Grant will start but whoever gets into the rotation after that is up to the players. All of Johnson, Homan, Spitler, Terry, and Gibson (which actually makes 8 scholarship LB's, 10 including Hines and Rolle) are all great players and players that I feel can turn a head on any given day. In other words...Spitler has looked great but if Johnson is really tearing it up, they will find a way to get him on the field.
 
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OSUBuckeye4Life;899644; said:
I thougth Hines was coming in as a saftey first.
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I believe that he mentioned during the week of the Ohio North-South game that his first look was going to come at Strong Safety.

I'm very excited about the fact that Johnson is improving and looking good. He gives us another great option next year at the MIKE if lil' Animal leaves early.
 
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Not trying to knock on the kid, he has improved tremendously over the past year, I just don't see him getting PT with the guys we have ahead of him. I wouldn't be surprised if you see Johnson moving to a position with his hand on the ground, he is big enough.
 
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