Are we good at linebacker?

Donate To GopherHole
K

kg21

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 25, 2021
Messages
18,539
Reaction score
9,145
Points
113
Losing Gibbens just sort of sucks.

What are your thoughts at linebacker next year and moving forward?

I just feel like we are ok now. Someone sell me on what we have. Thanks.
 

Wonder if we'll go after another Gibbens type in the portal?
 





Gopherjar said:
Oliver is real solid. I’m curious to see if Burns or Devon Williams can be difference makers with more playing time.
Click to expand...
It also seems like we don't have any younger guys. I"d thought they'd recruit more linebacker this year. We lost Gordan to the portal, too.

The fact that they didn't must mean they have some guys they like.

Didn't they love Lindenberg until he got hurt?
 

WriterGoph said:
Oliver looked awesome the last quarter of this season. MSM should be back. Also have Burns, Willis, Lindenberg, Finnessy and Devon Williams (the last two coaches are very excited about). That said, we could potentially snag the right guy from the portal.
Click to expand...
Yup. I feel OK about LB as well. Rossi was asked about it in his latest presser and named all those guys as well. I was specifically stoked about Lindenberg before he got hurt this fall...I think he'll be VERY good. Oliver played his best game of the year against Wisconsin. Burns and Willis were getting more run towarsd the end of the season. There's a reason Gordon transferred.
 

kg21 said:
It also seems like we don't have any younger guys. I"d thought they'd recruit more linebacker this year. We lost Gordan to the portal, too.

The fact that they didn't must mean they have some guys they like.

Didn't they love Lindenberg until he got hurt?
Click to expand...

Devon Williams, Lucas Finnessy and Lindenberg are all redshirt freshmen next year. Williams has been getting mentioned by coaches and players as a young guy to watch for a bit now. Plus they took Joey Gerlach in this class.
 

WriterGoph said:
Oliver looked awesome the last quarter of this season. MSM should be back. Also have Burns, Willis, Lindenberg, Finnessy and Devon Williams (the last two coaches are very excited about). That said, we could potentially snag the right guy from the portal.
Click to expand...
This.

If this question would have been asked at the beginning of the year, I would have been more worried. The last couple of games, we saw the old Braelin Oliver who is an absolute playmaker. Actually brings something neither Gibbens or MSM bring. Willis also starting getting a lot more run and Lindenberg looks huge now.

Lindenberg played in the first couple of games, got injured, and they decided to RS him.
 




WriterGoph said:
Oliver looked awesome the last quarter of this season. MSM should be back. Also have Burns, Willis, Lindenberg, Finnessy and Devon Williams (the last two coaches are very excited about). That said, we could potentially snag the right guy from the portal.
Click to expand...

Edit: I guess it depends how they handle the COVID year, but Finnessy will be a sophomore next year (played a lot of games this year) and Lindenberg could be considered a redshirt frosh or sophomore since 2020 was a free year.
 


Was Lindenberg a torn ACL? I can't remember.
 




WriterGoph said:
Edit: I guess it depends how they handle the COVID year, but Finnessy will be a sophomore next year (played a lot of games this year) and Lindenberg could be considered a redshirt frosh or sophomore since 2020 was a free year.
Click to expand...
In his post season interview, Gibbens specifically mentioned Finnessy as being very good inside. Finnessy is big, 6’3” 240, and played special teams in 2021. Was a DB in HS; can cover some, I suspect. I think we have a lot of young talent at LB, and good experience with MDM and Oliver. Expect this to be a solid position in 2022 without the necessity of a transfer. If they get a good transfer, fine, but don’t think it is crucial to get one.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
In his post season interview, Gibbens specifically mentioned Finnessy as being very good inside. Finnessy is big, 6’3” 240, and played special teams in 2021. Was a DB in HS; can cover some, I suspect. I think we have a lot of young talent at LB, and good experience with MDM and Oliver. Expect this to be a solid position in 2022 without the necessity of a transfer. If they get a good transfer, fine, but don’t think it is crucial to get one.
Click to expand...
When you have as many promising young guys at a position it might be counter productive to bring in a one-year portal guy for experience when it would mean taking away playing time from developing talent. Portal best used to plug real weaknesses.
 




Gophergrandpa said:
In his post season interview, Gibbens specifically mentioned Finnessy as being very good inside. Finnessy is big, 6’3” 240, and played special teams in 2021. Was a DB in HS; can cover some, I suspect. I think we have a lot of young talent at LB, and good experience with MDM and Oliver. Expect this to be a solid position in 2022 without the necessity of a transfer. If they get a good transfer, fine, but don’t think it is crucial to get one.
Click to expand...
Yeah I’m intrigued by Finnessy, he played some corner in high school and has bulked up. MSM and Oliver are good veterans. Aune has a fair amount of experience, I believe he was injured last year. Donald Willis played quite a bit this year and has been around a while now. So two solid vets, two less experienced vets, and a stable of young talent. I’m not too concerned.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
This.

If this question would have been asked at the beginning of the year, I would have been more worried. The last couple of games, we saw the old Braelin Oliver who is an absolute playmaker. Actually brings something neither Gibbens or MSM bring. Willis also starting getting a lot more run and Lindenberg looks huge now.

Lindenberg played in the first couple of games, got injured, and they decided to RS him.
Click to expand...

MSM & Oliver should be a fine pair for 2022. Obviously we need depth, but that's where Lindenberg, Willis, and one of he younger guys come in. I'm sure the staff will be on the look out for a portal transfer as well. I really am not too concerned about the LB position.
 

I would expect that there will be a Boye Mafe type of coming-out party for some developmental guys waiting in the wings. These surprises are never old.
 



Having depth on defense is a great thing. As much as I defended Glen Mason (all for the running game, Oline, and some vertical passing attack) for the last 15 years, once those teams lost one or two linebackers, or a few on the DB site, it was all over. It seemed the D line had a little more depth.

With any LB depth that 28-7 collapse we will not mention in 2003 would never have occurred. Mason had an already slow LB playing on one leg out there trying to defend Michigan screen passes, one after another in the 2nd half.

My main point of happiness with the JK teams was that we had depth, and top end DB play, and probably would not blow a lead. The same applies now, but the so called ceiling has been pushed up a lot.

Those 2012-2016 Claeys Safety/ CB groups were as elite as it got outside of Columbus OH, in the Big Ten during that era.

I expected JK to hire Tracy Claeys right away to be DC at NMSU, and that did not happen. Mabye he is done with it, but he was the best Gopher DC of my lifetime.
 

oak_street1981 said:
Having depth on defense is a great thing. As much as I defended Glen Mason (all for the running game, Oline, and some vertical passing attack) for the last 15 years, once those teams lost one or two linebackers, or a few on the DB site, it was all over. It seemed the D line had a little more depth.

With any LB depth that 28-7 collapse we will not mention in 2003 would never have occurred. Mason had an already slow LB playing on one leg out there trying to defend Michigan screen passes, one after another in the 2nd half.

My main point of happiness with the JK teams was that we had depth, and top end DB play, and probably would not blow a lead. The same applies now, but the so called ceiling has been pushed up a lot.

Those 2012-2016 Claeys Safety/ CB groups were as elite as it got outside of Columbus OH, in the Big Ten during that era.

I expected JK to hire Tracy Claeys right away to be DC at NMSU, and that did not happen. Mabye he is done with it, but he was the best Gopher DC of my lifetime.
Click to expand...

If Joe Rossi has any more years like this year, I'd say he will be in the conversation with Claeys.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I expected JK to hire Tracy Claeys right away to be DC at NMSU, and that did not happen. Mabye he is done with it, but he was the best Gopher DC of my lifetime.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised Claeys wasn't hired, but somehow not surprised that both the OC and DC are from Kansas. There's nothing Jerry likes more than Kansans.
 

WriterGoph said:
If Joe Rossi has any more years like this year, I'd say he will be in the conversation with Claeys.
Click to expand...
Yeah, there is no doubt Claeys was a very good DC but Rossi is closing the gap. Outside of the Robb Smith fiasco it has been fun to see the Gophers field a quality defense more often than not after years and years where the D struggled to keep pace with the offense under guys like Wacker, Mason and Brewster most years.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I expected JK to hire Tracy Claeys right away to be DC at NMSU, and that did not happen. Mabye he is done with it, but he was the best Gopher DC of my lifetime.
Click to expand...
SMPLSGopher said:
I'm surprised Claeys wasn't hired, but somehow not surprised that both the OC and DC are from Kansas. There's nothing Jerry likes more than Kansans.
Click to expand...
Claeys reportedly told somebody (Doogie maybe?) that NMSU might be a good place to be a head coach, but not an assistant. I suspect that he may have talked to Kill about a position, but wasn't willing to move to New Mexico for what their budget would allow Kill to pay him. It's going to be a grind there to try to make significant improvement and I don't think Claeys wants to work that hard for less money than he thinks he is worth, all while fighting an uphill battle to be better on the field.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom