There I would sit, every day, refreshing the recruiting target lists, hoping for just one middle linebacker recruit to list us. I watched Will Compton go to Nebraska, talked myself into thinking that Steven Filer would renege on his commitment to Notre Dame and come to Champaign, and dreamt of Sam Barrington or Hawatha Bell last year.  But we really didn’t seem to have backup options for players projected to be inside linebackers.  Were we just taking shots at elite-level inside linebackers, fully confident that our backup plans (mostly, taller linebackers who projected on the outside) would be more than adequate?

With the Martez Wilson move to Mike linebacker, I think the answer is a resounding yes.  We’ve known all along that Zook’s defense doesn’t employ your typical Sam (strongside), Mike (middle), and Will (weakside) linebackers.  And when we’re in the 4-2-5, which really is our base defense, it gets even more fuzzy.  So why has Zook brought in so many tall, lanky linebackers and barely any short, stout, and strong middle linebackers?  I think it’s because he’s building around his base 4-2-5 defense, where both of his linebackers are more or less outside backers.  And I’m hoping he views the future of defending the spread as all but eliminating the need for a typical hard-hitting, block-shedding, hard nosed bowling ball of a middle linebacker.  At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Starters: Ian Thomas (rs-SO), Martez Wilson (JR), Aaron Gress (JR)

I decided that the last few position breakdowns haven’t been spicy enough.  I almost put Clay Nurse ahead of Antonio James, I thought about shaking things up and giving Graham Pocic the starting left guard spot, but I went with the safe pick both times. I fully realize that picking Aaron Gress to start over Russell Ellington does not make me the Chuck Yeager of Illini blogs, but if #42 wraps up Derrick Washington on missouri’s first play from scrimmage, I’ll at least be patting myself on the back.

The biggest news this offseason was Martez WIlson moving inside.  A supremely talented athlete who often looked extremely lost last year, Martez is a can’t-miss prospect who might actually miss.  I’d love to sit here and write a Benn-like breakdown, listing all of the known absolutes when it comes to Tez’s game.  But I can’t. Yet. He has to show that he can read & react and not read, think, & react.  Go watch some highlights of the Penn State game last year – on at least three occasions, he was half a step behind his assignment because he paused before he attacked.  Eliminate that, and Martez could find himself on some preseason All American lists next year.  Struggle with that, and Martez could be one of the bigger recruiting letdowns this decade.  I’ll do the thinking for you, Tez.  Just read and react.

Ian Thomas is probably the only other absolute.  I’m 94% positive he’ll be starting next to Martez.  I watched him a fair amount during the spring game, and he seemed to know the defense really well.  There’s a highlight I’m too lazy to look for right now, but in one of the scrimmages they ran a delayed handoff to Ford – kind of a counter play where the flow of the play was to the left, with Ford cutting back right.  The strongside DE bit, thinking he had an angle at the play, leaving the right tackle and Ford swinging to the right.  And there was Ian Thomas, feet active, reading the play correctly, shedding the block, and making the tackle.  That’s exactly what you want from your Sam linebacker.  There will be an adjustment period for sure, and he’ll look lost at times, but he certainly seems to have the technique down when you watch him.  Can he tackle like Brit Miller?  We’ll see.

At the Will linebacker, I’m going with Aaron Gress.  I like my linebackers active, not flat-footed, and Gress seemed to be the most active of the backups in the Spring Game.  And being a Juco guy might give him a slight edge – when Antonio Steele arrived on campus, he was a doer, not a thinker.  And since Steele was a Juco linebacker from California, using deductive reasoning, that means Gress will be identical to him. *pushes easy button*

Backups: Dustin Jefferson (rs-JR), Nate Bussey (JR), Russell Ellington (SO), Justin Staples (rs-FR), Nate Palmer (rs-FR), Evan Frierson (rs-FR)

This is going to be difficult.  I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the 6 linebackers listed above working their way into the starting rotation.  Which, if you think about it, probably isn’t a very good thing.  I mean, depth is a good thing, but I prefer my depth chart breakdowns to be “well, you KNOW he’s going to be the first guy off the bench.”  WIth this sixsome, I really have no idea.  Mainly because they’ve had so little time on the field.  That’s probably a problem.

Dustin Jefferson has been solid on special teams, but that’s about it.  He’s big and strong and hits hard, but might be a step slow. And “step slow” is never a good thing when it comes to choosing linebackers against spread offenses. Used to be you could make up for that with vision and wood-laying.  Now, quick has to be in the equation. Somewhere, Scott Studwell weeps.

Nate Bussey switched over from safety (where he was awful) to linebacker (where I’m hoping he won’t be awful).  Zook loves Nate Bussey, and always makes it a point to mention him when he’s asked about the linebackers.  So look for Bussey to get a fair amount of snaps.  He’ll have to convince me he understands tackling angles before I’ll be happy about that.

Russell Ellington is the odds-on favorite to grab the starting Will linebacker position and run with it. He worked his way into the rotation right away as a true freshman – something his fellow classmates weren’t able to do – and will likely find much more on-the-field time as a result.  He looks like he’s bulked up a good bit in the offseason, which is a good thing.  In the ULL game last year, he looked like a cornerback playing linebacker.

Justin Staples cheated to win the piggy-back race with the kids at the Crisis Nursery of Champaign.  When watching that episode of The Journey, my brain tried to turn that into “see, he just has a drive and determination to win at all costs. Almost Jordanesque.” Yes, after the last 20 years of Illini Football, I will take just about any positive molehill and turn it into a mountain.  Vis a vis, look for Staples on the First Team All Big Ten (no, not really).

Nate Palmer might be a candidate for defensive end eventually.  He’s big and strong (reminds me a little bit of last years’ Sam linebacker Rodney Pittman).  If we continue to be light at DE, Palmer (or maybe even Staples) could add some pounds, build some muscle, and put their hand in the dirt.

Evan Frierson looked pretty good in the spring game, reading Juice’s eyes, tipping a pass, and grabbing the deflection out of the air himself.  Granted, it was just one play, but given that we intercepted ONE pass in that manner in all of 2008, I was ready to go down on the field and offer him my daughter (no, I don’t have a daughter).

Freshman: Eric Watts

I was surprised to see Watts in Bob Asmussen’s Top-50 players.  With all of the freshman coming off redshirts, I’m expecting him to follow the same path.  You know the drill – redshirt, eat, workout, learn the playbook, and see what he can do the next fall as a redshirt frosh.  I like seniors, which means I like class continuity, which means I want Watts to redshirt.  Of course, if he arrives on campus and pulls a Dana Howard, I won’t complain.

Summation: Sam is the new Will

Zook’s defense really doesn’t have typical Sam-Mike-Will roles, at least by my observation.  Last year, when we’d go to the 4-2-5, our Sam linebacker (Rodney Pittman) would come off the field and we’d have the MIke (Brit Miller) and the Will (Martez Wilson) manning the position.  This spring in a few scrimmages, when it was Thomas-Wilson-Ellington on the field, we’d drop the Will linebacker and go with a two-player formation of the Sam (Ian Thomas) and the Mike (Martez Wilson).

Clear as mud?  Thought so.  The point is this – I think Zook’s defensive strategy is as follows:  Most experienced guy goes inside (Leman moved in, then Miller moved in, now Martez), even if he’s more of a traditional outside backer.  The other two starters are based on the traditional strongside/weakside linebacking roles, but when we drop a linebacker and add a safety, he takes his fastest linebacker (regardless of position) and puts him out there with his Mike.

This was all so much easier when Woody and Bo ran the ball 85% of the time. But with the changes that the spread has brought to college football, I’m happy to see that Zook is doing something about it.