When Ole Miss Football Resumes: The Linebackers


(Photo: John Bowen, 247Sports)

Without being able to communicate with any of the defensive coaches per Lane Kiffin’s media guidelines, it’s difficult to intelligently discuss the linebacker situation completely until media members can actually watch a practice.

Sure, Lakia Henry, MoMo Sanogo, Jacquez Jones and some others will be true linebackers, but what of the likes of Sam Williams, Luke Knox, Brandon Mack and Chuck Wiley, who played outside linebacker last year in Mike MacIntyre’s 3-4 defense but are now looking at D.J. Durkin and Chris Partridge’s base 4-3? Do they move back to defensive end or stay at linebacker?

It appears a little of both.

In some sets, Williams, Knox, Mack and even true frosh Demon Clowney will play defensive end and in some sets they will drop back to an outside linebacker slot. The coaches call the position the “Buck,” and it seems ideal for the skill sets of those four, who are athletic enough to do either.

As was stated in a previous article, the defensive coaches are going to go with a base 4-3, but they are also going to be multiple, depending on the opponent, which includes a 3-4 look and a 4-2-5 look.

For the purposes of this linebacker article, we are going to let the Bucks stay with the defensive line and we have already listed Wiley at the strong defensive end with Ryder Anderson and Tariqious Tisdale, who also may be given a look at DT.

Starting with MoMo, who had 112 tackles as a sophomore in 2018 and had a season-ending injury early last year, he’s a prototypical middle linebacker at 6-2, 244 pounds. He’s used to calling the signals on the defense and has good leadership qualities. The word prior to the lockdown was that he has overcome his injury and his rehab is successfully completed.

Henry and Jones took over for Sanogo last year after he was injured, but don’t be surprised to see both used on the outside as well. This is a semi-wild guess, but our expectations are for Henry to move to an OLB slot exclusively and for Jones to play some middle and some outside. Henry, who led the team with 88 tackles last year, has the wheels to cover tight ends and backs. So does the 6-0, 232-pound Jones, but is probably not quite as quick as Henry.

Senior Donta Evans seemed more suited for the 3-4 last year as an ILB, and he got a second lease on his college football career after being lightly used in 2018. He will likely be in the mix as Sanogo’s backup and should get quality playing time.

Beyond those four, it gets a little trickier.

Junior Zi Baker is a quality special teams player and he’s a hard worker, but he hasn’t been able to break into the two-deep since he came to Ole Miss three years ago. Maybe this is his year – it’s been a puzzle why he hasn’t achieved more. The previous staff stated “learning curve.”

Sophomore Ashanti Cistrunk got some action on special teams last year and is looking for more in i2020. We’ll see how quickly he catches on to the new system and how he has matured physically.

Redshirt frosh Tavario Sandifer was rehabbing an injury last year. It will be interesting to see how he comes back from rehab and how quickly he can catch on.

Meanwhile, the aces up the coaches’ sleeves are Williams, Knox, Mack and Clowney. If they show good linebacking skills, those positions will not have to worry about quality depth, no matter what scheme the coaches choose to run. Williams and Knox played OLB last year in a 3-4 and it looks like they will be used in that capacity when the Rebs go to that scheme again.

Durkin, who will coach the LBs, will have some sorting out to do, but he’s a veteran who has managed this kind of situation before. We’re sure he’ll figure it out again. . . .

. . . . when Ole Miss football resumes.

SOURCE: Rounsaville, Chuck. "When Ole Miss Football Resumes: The Linebackers." OMSpirit - 247Sports.com, 4 May 2020, https://247sports.com/college/ole-miss/Article/When-Ole-Miss-Football-Resumes-The-Linebackers-146764732/