Is the depth at linebacker better or worse than the depth in the secondary?...Could be a wash, and I know that may sound surprising. But at least top end, Fisher, Compton, and David could be a solid starting trio (projecting development/return from injury a bit). We don't even know who our #2 corner is, much less the nickel and dime guys. I think we'll run a 4-3. can't see the nickel/dime being worth taking a starting LB off the field for as a base package. That and I believe coaches are saying we will run 4-3 (then again, same last year; it was Fisher's injury that changed things).
If various young players emerge, things could change. But that probably happens over the course of the season.
That's a good point Zoogies. I guess I've had it entrenched in my head that we have vast depth in the secondary, and have seemed to be perpetually (for the last handful of years, anyway) thin at LB. If we say that Dennard and David are equally talented (debatable, all the way around meaning you could argue for BOTH Dennard or David as superior, I'd take Fonz if I had to...maybe...) then we start looking at Compton and Fischer, Osborne...probably Cassidy...and Ciante Evans, perhaps?
I thought Evans looked strong last year. He looked like a grown man as a true freshman, so you have to assume he'll grow even a little more. Osborne really impressed me when he relieved a somewhat disappointing, though young, PJ Smith. Cassidy is a dependable safety, even if he lacks elite level athleticism.
For me, this question comes down to potential vs. performance. I've seen Osborne perform at an encouragingly competent level. His hit on Gabbert is my second favorite stick on a Tiger in recent memory. (Guess which is first.) I feel confident with Cassidy in the lineup...he doesn't seem to blow many if any assignments back there. (In my very un-expert opinion, anyhow.) Fonz is proven. Evans sure looks (to me) like he could potentially be our next elite CB. So with our secondary, we have tangible performance we can site. This is not quite the case with our LB's.
In my eyes we have one proven commodity in the middle with the exceptionally quick and instinctive David, one player we can reasonably expect to play adequately to perhaps better than average in Compton, who has been hindered by injuries and thus cannot be judged with 100% accuracy off of past performance (although, what is ever 100% except for the certainty of death and the fact that any woman will be disappointed when I take my pants off?) and then another injury casualty, Fisher.
I think Compton can be a steady B1G LB if he can put together a (relatively) injury free year. (At the end of the year, no one is really "injury free.") The one guy I think we need to make a leap in performance, maybe more than any other NU defender, is Fischer. He has the measurables. But I've heard (totally unsubstantiated) rumors that Sean leaves a little to be desired in the work ethic department. Take that with a grain of salt, but Fischer has not blown me away with his play on the field up to this point. Again, injuries have restricted his experience and thus his development, but I'd like to see Sean live up to what we all thought he could be when we first saw that big frame wearing the helmet with the N on it as a freshman. If Fischer can be a revelation this year, with a healthy Compton, we can be pretty damn salty.
In summation (damn...pare it down Finnegan’s Wake!) I like our secondary better as we sit here today. I've got a lot of faith in Evans...maybe more than I should considering he might not even start opposite of Fonz. But we've seen those guys perform in game action. The LB corps has some potential...but let's see it on the field. But if Fischer or Compton or, disaster, David goes down, who replaces them? The secondary has guys like PJ Smith and Corey Cooper and Charles Jackson and Daimion Stafford waiting in the wings. The LB pool is considerably more shallow, from this vantage point.
