tOSU Linebackers History (Merged)

[MililaniBuckeye]

There has been a lot of discussion in the threads of our linebacker recruits as to who will play where this season at LB (not only the recruits, but also the returning players). I figured I'd take our returning players at LB and line them up at how I see them being positioned:

SAM: Laurinaitis, Terry, Spitler
MIKE: D'Andrea, Kerr, Hoobler
WILL: Freeman, Robinson, Lukens

As for our recruits, Homan and Johnson are MLBs, with Moeller and Gibson being OLBs (as will Grant, if/when he commits). I'd put Gibson at WILL and Moeller at SAM...I know you usually put your bigger LB at SAM, and Gibson is bigger than Moeller, but Gibson is so fast I'd have to get him in the open. What a nice problem to have.

 

[exhawg]

Any news on the NCAA upping the number of players on the field for every play so that OSU can fit all of these LB's on the field?

The 4-8-4 defense sounds pretty good. :p

 

[AJHawkfan]

Dang! Now that's some serious talent! Penn State is Linebacker U? I think not.

 

[EdDantes22]

I know Freeman is supposed to be a stud, and obviously D'Andrea should be as well. But what do we really know about Lauranaitis? In the two games he played in as basically a starter last year--Michigan and the fiesta bowl--I believe he had a combined 1 tackle. Obviously the coaches thought he was the best option if they put him out there to fill in for Carpenter...but is he the automatic starter? Could another guy overtake him, and if so, who? What about the possibility of a true freshman starter, or Grant, should we get his commitment? Is Freeman a starter for sure?

We could extend this conversation to the back seven in general. Who will start at corner and safety? I would think Jenkins is a safe bet at corner, and O'Neal at safety. Personally I'm not a Brandon Mitchell fan. Amos may be ready to start. Thoughts?

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I know Freeman is supposed to be a stud, and obviously D'Andrea should be as well. But what do we really know about Lauranaitis? In the two games he played in as basically a starter last year--Michigan and the fiesta bowl--I believe he had a combined 1 tackle.

...

We could extend this conversation to the back seven in general.

If you fill in for a likely NFL first-rounder in consecutive games against Michigan and Notre Dame, you're a starter.

No. If you want to talk specifically about the deep four, start a thread.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

I know Freeman is supposed to be a stud, and obviously D'Andrea should be as well. But what do we really know about Lauranaitis? In the two games he played in as basically a starter last year--Michigan and the fiesta bowl--I believe he had a combined 1 tackle. Obviously the coaches thought he was the best option if they put him out there to fill in for Carpenter...but is he the automatic starter? Could another guy overtake him, and if so, who? What about the possibility of a true freshman starter, or Grant, should we get his commitment? Is Freeman a starter for sure?

We could extend this conversation to the back seven in general. Who will start at corner and safety? I would think Jenkins is a safe bet at corner, and O'Neal at safety. Personally I'm not a Brandon Mitchell fan. Amos may be ready to start. Thoughts?

Talent wise, Freeman could be considered the most gifted athlete among the LB's. Anyone that saw him or Hoobler at the spring game last year will attest that they can play ball. I don't see MDA in the middle next year, I look for Kerr or Hoobler to fill that role. I think Kerr is a much more instinctive MLB than MDA. Hoobler seems to have great nose for the ball, and he knows how to avoid traffic, which is key to play MLB. I would like to see MDA in a Carpenter type role next season, he seems to impact a game the most when he is blitzing. He has been injured so much in his career, I am really pulling for him this year.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Everyone has been trying to move D'Andrea to rush DE since his arrival and it hasn't happened in four years, so it ain't gonna happen this year (same as for Fox moving to safety). Barring injury, D'Andrea will start at MLB.

 

[jwinslow]

Laurinaitis obviously has potential for the coaches to put him out there, but he was pretty average. He got taken completely out of the play on the Walker rushing TD in the 1st qtr (IIRC).

Grant seems pretty raw, and grad's assessment of his technique makes me also question whether he could actually start right away.

Everyone has been trying to move D'Andrea to rush DE since his arrival and it hasn't happened in four years, so it ain't gonna happen this year (same as for Fox moving to safety). Barring injury, D'Andrea will start at MLB.

d'andrea was set to graduate at the same time as two excellent hybrids (Carp and Kudla - enough mobility to drop into coverage occasionally). So I'm not sure if the past proves that it cannot happen this year. I'm not suggesting it will happen, just that we definitely didn't need another hybrid until his injuries prolonged his career.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Laurinaitis obviously has potential for the coaches to put him out there, but he was pretty average. He got taken completely out of the play on the Walker rushing TD in the 1st qtr (IIRC).

And if I remember correctly, Hawk was taken out of at least one of Walker's longer runs...does that mean Hawk sucks? Even the best linebackers of all-time will get taken out of some plays.

A true freshman playing "average" in games of that magnitude is pretty impressive.

 

[EdDantes22]

If you fill in for a likely NFL first-rounder in consecutive games against Michigan and Notre Dame, you're a starter.

Well that really did nothing to address my question. How great Carpenter is/was has nothing to do with his replacement, first of all. Plugging in Lauranaitis means that, at that time, the coaches believed he was the best option after Carpenter. It says nothing about his skill in relation to Carpenter. If he bumped a healthy Carpenter from the line up, then sure, but he was simply filling in so you're not making much sense. I agree it makes Lauranaitis the likely starter; just wondering if people thought it was sewn up or not. He really made no plays of any significance in either game that he played in. Certainly not any tackles of significance.

Also, does anyone think Moeller may be moved to safety? That was mentioned some during his recruiting, and it seems to fit him better size wise.

 

[jwinslow]

And if I remember correctly, Hawk was taken out of at least one of Walker's longer runs...does that mean Hawk sucks? Even the best linebackers of all-time will get taken out of some plays.

A true freshman playing "average" in games of that magnitude is pretty impressive.

agreed, which is why he was the starter in my 5-deep post elsewhere. However, the average nature of those two games also makes me question how untouchable he is with our talent at LB.

Moeller has been brought in to defend the spread, and will be fine playing at a smaller size. Texas' D shut us down pretty well with undersized backers (Chizik's style). If there is any position OSU maintains excellent depth, it is safety (O'Neal, Mitchell, Patterson, Welch, Russell, Schwartz, Gant, Coleman if need be, etc).

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Well that really did nothing to address my question.

Uh, yeah it did. If you can't figure it out, then no amount of explaning will enlighten you.

 

[Buckeye86]

Uh, yeah it did. If you can't figure it out, then no amount of explaning will enlighten you.

I seem to recall us playing a lot of nickel defense against both Michigan and Notre Dame and I don't think Laurinaitis was even on the field very much, I could be wrong of course, and if someone could go back and break down how many plays of defense Laurinaitis was in on that would be great. But the point is, your claim that "he filled in for a first round draft pick therefore he's a starter" may not be as bullet proof as you think since it seems to me like we played a lot of downs of defense in the last two games with only two linebackers on the field. Like I said I could be full of it, but that's how I remember the last two games... lots of nickel.

Oh and P.S. I have nothing against Laurinaits or any of our other linebackers, I'm sure the best will start and what a great problem to have.

 

[EdDantes22]

Uh, yeah it did. If you can't figure it out, then no amount of explaning will enlighten you.

Solid argument. I admit I'm beaten; I called you out and you backed yourself up with...well...absolutely nothing. Carpenter's future draft status and/or skill level in general have absolutely no logical relation to the skill of his replacement, formally or informally. The fact that he was chosen to replace an injured Carpenter only means that he was considered the best option at the time among the back-up linebackers. He could easily be overtaken by next fall, and whether he ends up starting or not, his predecessors success has nothing to do with anything. The fact that we played nickel a lot just makes the obvious gap between Carpenter and Lauranaitis that much more apparent. The real question isn't who he filled in for, but how he stacks up with the linebackers who are still here. Otherwise, we could trace Lauranaitis to Carpenter to the guy Carpenter filled in for to his predecessor, and pretty soon Lauranaitis is better than Spielman.

If you want to reply to thoughtful posts with smug one liners that lack any sort of reasoned argument whatsoever, have something to be smug about.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

Everyone has been trying to move D'Andrea to rush DE since his arrival and it hasn't happened in four years, so it ain't gonna happen this year (same as for Fox moving to safety). Barring injury, D'Andrea will start at MLB.

Tell you what Mil, I think I may take you up on the MDA "will start at MLB" chatter. I just don't see him being the MLB backer next year. Let's throw down a couple of hundred V cash or something just for fun.

I don't think he'll be an end per se, but then again, neither was Carp......but technically he was used mostly for rushing the QB. MDA will never be Wilhelm or Speilman, he just doesn't have the MLB instincts.....at least from what I've seen. I played the position, and I'm sure that many people would agree that it is an instinctive position. I've said it since MDA was in high school, he doesn't seem to have "it" when it comes to playing middle backer. No knock against him, just an observation.