A handful of those young players — highlighted by junior TJ Simmons and sophomore Tegray Scales — saw valuable playing time early.
Now set to prepare for their second and third years with the program, youth is becoming less and less of an excuse for players like Scales and Simmons. They project to anchor a group of linebackers still searching for consistency after switching to defensive coordinator Brian Knorr’s 3-4 base defense last ?season.
Graduated linebacker David Cooper leaves the biggest hole to fill after appearing in all 12 games in 2014, where he spent most of his time alongside Simmons in the middle. One of the vocal leaders and unofficial team barber, Cooper was fourth on the team with 60 tackles last year.
The Hoosiers will also look to replace the 53 tackles, six pass breakups and two sacks from Flo Hardin and Kyle Kennedy’s nine tackles.
Spring camp should give Knorr and linebackers coach William Inge a better idea of whose playing time will ?increase.
Junior Clyde Newton and sophomores Marcus Oliver and Greg Gooch are three candidates who immediately jump out considering their slightly limited effect last ?season.
Oliver was granted a medical redshirt after suffering an ACL injury against Missouri. He appeared to be fitting into his role well last season with 10 tackles in just three games before being sidelined the rest of the season.
Assuming his recovery has gone to plan, Oliver has the potential to return to that early-season form and compete for one of the starting spots with Newton and Gooch, whom Inge applauded throughout the season last year for making strides on the field and in the film room.
To-be freshman Reakwon Jones will be joining the linebackers’ room for the 2015 season, but the 247Sports 3-star prospect won’t be in Bloomington until summer.
Jones’ 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame and quick playing style are comparable to Scales, but the coaching staff won’t have a better idea of how he fits until he joins the team later on.
Replacing the 113 tackles — 10.5 for loss — between Cooper and Hardin will certainly be IU’s most daunting task heading into 2015.
The past two seasons have seen the Hoosiers’ linebacker position become one of the defense’s biggest strengths. With a number of experienced young players set to take on even larger roles in the upcoming season, this spring will show if IU’s depth can ?overcome its losses.
