The LB thread(2012)

[Hunter94]

i hope Santos bulks up, playing LB at 205 is asking a lot in the B1G..........even Davd understood he had to bulk up to 225 last season to survive.

I'm pretty darn sure Santos isn't 205lbs anymore.....he's the same height as Lavonte, yet bigger I believe.

Santos is up around 220 now the last I heard.

This. If he can pickup the defense enough to see the field, athleticism at that spot improves immensely, imo.

Lavonte David 2.0.

We wish

at this point i would be happy if he turns out to be Lavonte 1.5

 

[redout22]

Compton needs to have a monster year. After him, I expect Whaley to play solid. Then ZA and Santos are my wildcards (we need to find a stud LB in one of these guys). Spot play from Fisher and Roach. Would be great to see the freshman LB's step up...I expect Brown to RS. Rose and Afalava...spring practice will tell.

I really feel like Compton will have a big year.. He has stepped up tremendously during spring practice and has become a lot more vocal. Seems to me like hes getting the mental part of the game down.

 

[n.e.husker]

espn article on Compton.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/49764/huskers-will-compton-masters-mental-edge

Nebraska linebacker Will Compton reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out his iPhone.
The lock screen displays the following: "Thank God, go to work, do extra, don't give yourself an excuse and become the absolute best." Compton's phone also contains what he describes as desire statements and reward statements.

Desire statement: "I want to be one of THE BEST linebackers in the country."

Reward statement: "Reap the benefits. All-Conference, All-American, getting drafted to the NFL."

Compton reviews the messages every day as part of a routine he adopted during the offseason. His goal: becoming a trusted and genuine leader for Nebraska's defense, which loses several from the 2011 team -- linebacker Lavonte David, cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, safety Austin Cassidy, tackle Jared Crick

.

 

[flatwaterfan]

Personally, I think Whaley would be best at SLB but understand why they moved him to WLB. I am going to go on a limb and say move Whaley back to SLB and have him fight it out with Fish. I'd like to see Whaley win it this year and Fish back him up. Then I would like to see Fish be the guy next year and Pirman would be the top backup by then. At MLB it's currently Compton and Roach, but I would throw Rose in the mix to compete for the top backup spot with Roach. Rose is very instinctive and might win that spot. I think he is our future MLB starter. I would like to see him get some seasoning. At WLB I am hoping that ZA can come in and pick up the defense and be the starter. Santos would be the top backup. Rose could also compete at WLB too, but I would prefer him to stay at MLB. I like Afalava at SLB and Brown at WLB and think both should redshirt to get bigger and stronger.

 

[HuskerFowler]

Sounds like Afalava wont make it. I also see why they moved Whaley but i think if Anderson can come in and learn the defense he will take over a few games into the season, IF he can pick it up as fast as David which is hard to do. Whaley is an insurance policy to have someone at the position that atleast knows whats going on, and i see him moving back with Santos having a good fall camp and Anderson coming in to see playng time. Santos is going to be a good one mark my words. I believe they will or atleast should redshirt Rose, i think he is cabable of coming and playing right away but the MLB is very improtant in Bo defense and he will need a year learning from Compton. I see our LB next year (2013) being Santos (RsSoph) Rose (RsFresh) Anderson (S), which would be alot of talent and potential at the position. Eventually leading to Banderas Rose Santos getting alot of playing time together in the coming years. It never works the way you think, but its fun to think about the potential of our LB corp in the coming years. Lots of speed and instinct, which we will need for Miller and the OSU offense.

 

[flatwaterfan]

Santos definitely has some talent. It sounds like the issue may be just getting the mental part down. There's all sorts of scenarios that could play out.

Sad to hear Afalava won't make it. I think he would of been a great SLB down the road.

 

[n.e.husker]

Hope we develop some depth or at least see whats behind Compton/Whaley/Fisher in the first 4 games. Id like to see Santos, Slaughter, Roach, Kreikemeir and Anderson get some lengthy looks.

 

[RexIsMyDogg]

Sounds like Afalava wont make it. I also see why they moved Whaley but i think if Anderson can come in and learn the defense he will take over a few games into the season, IF he can pick it up as fast as David which is hard to do. Whaley is an insurance policy to have someone at the position that atleast knows whats going on, and i see him moving back with Santos having a good fall camp and Anderson coming in to see playng time. Santos is going to be a good one mark my words. I believe they will or atleast should redshirt Rose, i think he is cabable of coming and playing right away but the MLB is very improtant in Bo defense and he will need a year learning from Compton. I see our LB next year (2013) being Santos (RsSoph) Rose (RsFresh) Anderson (S), which would be alot of talent and potential at the position. Eventually leading to Banderas Rose Santos getting alot of playing time together in the coming years. It never works the way you think, but its fun to think about the potential of our LB corp in the coming years. Lots of speed and instinct, which we will need for Miller and the OSU offense.

Man that sucks about Afalava. Hope we can get him in a JUCO and get him here in a year or two. Do we really have the luxury of redshirting Rose? I don't think we do, especially if he can be a beast on special teams right away.

I think both Compton and Whaley will have big years. I think Compton has 2nd/3rd round potential if he plays like he knows he can. Dude was a beast in high school at Bonne Terre and as Matt Kemp says, he just needs to let beast mode off its leash!