Spring Position Battles - Linebackers

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
From weakness to potential strength, here’s a position where perhaps only one starting job — the one belonging to Josh Banderas — is truly locked down. Banderas could play in the middle or on the outside, but he showed over the last half of the season that he needs to be on the field. But the outside ’backer jobs are up for grabs. Dedrick Young, Michael Rose-Ivey, Marcus Newby, Mohamed Barry and Luke Gifford will all get their looks. In the middle, Chris Weber will battle with Tyrin Ferguson. It’s likely that all of these guys will play on special teams. This unit could be a major strength in 2016 if position coach Trent Bray plays it right.
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OWH

 
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FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH


Marcus Newby: There was a thought two years ago that Newby could be an effective pass-rush specialist. He did show promise in that role as a redshirt freshman, but the extent of Newby’s ability as a true linebacker was unknown. What was his ceiling? Could he handle all of the responsibilities at linebacker? He answered some of those questions last season. Despite being slowed by injury, Newby recorded 34 tackles. Five of those came behind the line of scrimmage. He led all linebackers with four pass breakups. He’ll be squarely in the mix for playing time at outside linebacker in the fall.
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OWH

 
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Ahead of schedule: That'd be Young, who played more snaps than any other Husker backer last year. "Pretty hard to do for a true freshman at a place like Nebraska," Riley said. Now Young tries to build off a season that finished with him fourth in tackles with 61.


Ready to bust out? Ferguson dipped his toes in the water on special teams last year, but searches for a bigger role on defense. Mohamed Barry, meanwhile, added size while redshirting last fall. Trent Bray said Barry was weighing about 225-230 by the bowl game, adding, "The way he works and what he's doing on and off the field, I don't see why he wouldn't be in the mix for us next year."
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LJS

 
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No surprise that Bando, MRI and Young are the top group.

Newby, Gifford and Weber are the #2s

Ferguson, Barry and Brad Simpson are the 3s.

 
LJS Spring Practice Questions

4. How does that linebacker group sort itself out? It might seem simple enough, with seniors Josh Banderas and Michael Rose-Ivey joined by sophomore Dedrick Young in that top group to start the spring. But the development over the past year of Marcus Newby and Chris Weber drives the competition. The growth of young players like Tyrin Ferguson and Mohamed Barry, and a new crop of summer arrivals, could only feed it more. Newby, in particular, is in the best shape of his career. So thin at the position a year ago, Trent Bray is starting to accumulate options. In other words, good questions are starting to form.
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Who caught our eye:

Mohamed Barry. The redshirt freshman outside linebacker, competing on the lower units, enjoyed a big second half. He tackled Nabity for a 1-yard loss and later stopped running back Wyatt Mazour for no gain. The 6-1, 220-pound Barry also broke up a pass.
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LJS

 
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I believe our 'Backers are playing well and will be as good as any group in the Big Ten. They are a set of excellent athletes with good speed, excellent tackling skills and the capability to contribute both in pass and run defense at a high level.

 
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