The lack of experience and depth at LB really hurt the D this season. If Lindenberg and an experienced Maverick can play day one, we should be much improved there. If some young LBs have developed, for depth and rotation, that is better still. And, Mason Carrier … might have as good a chance as Koi to see some action as a Frosh. Wouldn’t be surprised if PJ brought in an experienced grad transfer LB for rotation, stability, mentoring, etc., but it has to be someone more ready to plug and play in the B1G than Selig was.
I am more concerned about the D backfield, simply because the spiritual leader, Nubin, is gone. Green, Bryson, Gousby and Koi bring a lot of athleticism to the Safety position, but experience and canniness must be gained. I think we start with two good Corners, but experienced depth will be an issue. Hope in long passing downs we either get more aggressive with blitzing, or we learn how a zone 7-8 person should be played so that it isn’t Swiss Cheese (i.e., copy Iowa’s active and smothering zone defense).