Editor's note: With fall camp just a few weeks away, OUInsider will give an overview of each position group and where things stand. The ninth installment focuses on the linebackers
Senior linebacker Danny Stutsman is the no-doubt, de facto leader that resides right in the heart of the Sooners' defense. But how will things shake out around him?
The Sooners have several options for the traditional linebacker spot, including three players who all saw a decent amount of playing time a year ago. At the cheetah spot — a hybrid position of linebacker and defensive back responsibilities — the Sooners have several linebackers and secondary players who rotated in and out there during the spring.
Both positions have several players vying for playing time, and even a few players who could see playing time at either spot. Brent Venables and new defensive coordinator Zac Alley have plenty of things to figure out.
Here's a look at the Sooners' linebacker and cheetah positions heading into the start of fall camp on Monday:
DEPTH CHART
Projected depth chart
LB1 — Danny Stutsman, Kobie McKinzie, Phil Piccotti
LB2 — Kip Lewis, Jaren Kanak, Lewis Carter
Cheetah — Dasan McCullough, Kendel Dolby, Samuel Omosigho
QUESTIONS
1. Who starts alongside Stutsman?
If there's any position group that could see the most significant movement/changes/rotations, it's the linebacker and cheetah spots.
Two of the primary candidates who could play next to Stutsman saw plenty of time there last season — Lewis and Kanak. Kanak earned the starting job during last year's fall camp and started the first nine games of the season, but his snap counts dropped dramatically over the last few games of the season. After averaging 52 snaps per game through the first eight games, he averaged just 24 over the last five games and played a season-low eight snaps against BYU.
His starting spot was taken by Lewis, who emerged as a solid contributor as the season went on. Over the last five games he recorded 36 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and a sack, and logged a career-high 15 tackles against Oklahoma State. But notably he played fewer snaps than Kanak against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Carter showed real growth during his second spring and even saw some first-team reps, particularly during the spring game. McCullough, who mostly played at the cheetah position last season, worked in heavily at the WILL linebacker spot during the spring, and he expressed a greater comfort playing there.
The Sooners have a ton of options. Lewis likely leads the pack, but there will be real competition and likely some real experimentation from the coaching staff.
2. What do the Sooners do at the cheetah?
The Sooners appeared to have their two main candidates from last season back in the fold. Justin Harrington was the starter to begin in the year before suffering a season-ending injury, opening the door for McCullough to be the full-time starter.
But Harrington surprisingly transferred during the spring. And with McCullough seeing reps at linebacker, it's opened the door for a lot more candidates. The Sooners trotted out a variety of options during the spring, including Kendel Dolby, Peyton Bowen, Samuel Omosigho, Billy Bowman, Woodi Washington and Robert Spears-Jennings.
McCullough could still primarily see time at cheetah, but his skills as a pass rusher and run stopper could be just as effective at the WILL. If the Sooners want to lean on someone who's better in pass coverage, they've got a ton of options. Dolby played some spot reps at cheetah towards the end of last season and proved himself as a reliable player in coverage.
Omosigho was a clear standout during the spring. His skills in coverage were particularly noteworthy, and that's the skill that Stutsman highlighted about Omosigho during SEC Media Days last week. The difference in confidence and skill between his first and second spring was fully on display.
It's unlikely that some of the players like Bowman and Washington would really see time there, but it showed how much the Sooners are willing to try different things. For example, the Sooners could opt to play the trio of Bowman, Spears-Jennings and Bowen at the same time, with one of them playing as the cheetah. Bowen in particular saw playing time there last season.
It'll be interesting to see who claims the starting spot, and if the Sooners experiment just as much in fall camp as they did in the spring.
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