Bears Preseason Preview: Linebackers
August 24, 2016 | Football
Bears Preseason Preview: Linebackers
Letterwinners returning/lost: 5/3
Starters returning/lost: 2/1
Letterwinners returning/lost: 5/3
Starters returning/lost: 2/1
- Led by senior All-America candidate Dylan Cole, the MSU linebacker group will feature a young, but talented blend of playmakers, including three returning standouts who combined for nearly a quarter of the Bears' tackles as a team in 2015.
- Cole, MSU's starter at the Will linebacker spot for each of its last 35 contests, led Bears in total tackles in every game last season and averaged 15.4 stops per outing during league play en route to picking up first-team All-MVFC recognition; he finished the year as the MVFC leader in tackles per game (13.8), which ranked third among all NCAA Division I FCS defenders.
- Overall, Cole logged nine double-digit tackle totals and averaged 6.6 solo tackles per game, which was tops in the MVFC and fifth overall in the FCS ranks; his 152 total tackles rank seventh on MSU's single-season chart.
- Kurran Blamey will once again line up opposite Cole at the Sam linebacker spot after making seven starts at the position as a redshirt freshman in 2015; overall, he made 31 tackles, including 2.0 for losses.
- In the middle, MSU linebackers coach Peter Badovinac will be forced to replace the presence of No. 2 tackler Christian Hoffmann, who logged 30 consecutive starts to close his career; stepping up to assume the role could be Alexz Jones, a junior who played in all 11 contests last year, making 38 stops, 4.5 of which went for losses.
- Junior Eric Greely and sophomore Easton Flaugh will provide support, as will redshirt frehsman McNeece Egbim, who led all tacklers (14) at MSU's Maroon and White Spring Game this past April.
- A promising set of newcomers including redshirt freshman transfer Gary Ernest and freshmen Ty McDuffy, Greg Sloan and Jordan Wilkes, could also factor into the mix.
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