Indiana Football Position Preview: Outside Linebackers

Outside linebackers play a major role on the Indiana defense, and position coach Kasey Teegardin expects Lanell Carr Jr., Myles Jackson and Anthony Jones all to contribute this season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The "Bull" position is a unique defensive wrinkle head coach Tom Allen has implemented at Indiana over the years.

It's a hybrid position that requires a player to have traits of an outside linebacker and defensive end. Ideally, these players can rush the quarterback, contain outside runs and drop back in pass coverage at times. Last year, Dasan McCullough and Lance Bryant excelled in this role, combining for 14.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and four pass breakups.

Both players have left the program, though, with McCullough transferring to Oklahoma and Bryant graduating. Indiana landed transfers Lanell Carr Jr. and Anthony Jones to help returner Myles Jackson handle this versatile position. 

Outside linebackers coach Kasey Teegardin expects all three to play significant roles and may use more than one of them on the field at the same time. 

"You're going to see more [rotation] than we have in the past, and that's a really, really good thing," Teegardin said Monday. "The beautiful thing is they can keep each other fresh. That's kind of been our challenge to them is, 'Hey, everybody's got a job to do. You've got to get in there. You've got to do your job.' ... If one guy gets gassed, boom, next guy in. That has to be a weapon for us. For a guy to come in fresh that has a great skillset and can be able to get after the quarterback, we have to use that. So I think they've got the right frame of mind, but you'll see a very strong rotation between those three."

Personnel

• #41 Lanell Carr Jr.: senior, 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, 27 games at West Virginia
• #10 Myles Jackson: redshirt junior, 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, eight games at UCLA, 12 games at Indiana
• #37 Jackson Schott: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds
• #45 Andrew Turvy: redshirt sophomore, 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, five games at IU
• #4 Anthony Jones: redshirt freshman, 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, two games at Oregon
• #40 Orlando Greenlow: freshman, 6-foot-5, 220 pounds
• #47 Finn Walters: freshman, 6-foot-4, 235 pounds,

Top expected contributors: Myles Jackson, Lanell Carr Jr., Anthony Jones

Myles Jackson tackles Elijah Collins during Indiana's double-overtime win at Michigan State on Nov. 19, 2022 :: Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Returning talent

Myles Jackson is Indiana's lone returner with experience at the Bull position. After transferring from UCLA before the 2022 season, Jackson appeared in all 12 games and totaled 18 tackles, including two for losses. He was opportunistic in the turnover game, recovering a fumble and snagging an interception to help Indiana defeat Western Kentucky.

Due to the variety of responsibilities the Bull position requires, having a year under his belt should help Jackson be more comfortable within Indiana's defense. He has two newcomers who will help keep him fresh on game day, as well.

Impact transfers

Outside linebacker and defensive line positions have been major areas of focus for Tom Allen and the Indiana coaching staff, and they have used the transfer portal to revamp the roster over the last two offseasons. And two players that joined Indiana this offseason, Lanell Carr Jr. and Anthony Jones, will have a chance to make their mark on the 2023 Hoosiers' defense. 

Carr joins the Hoosiers after three seasons at West Virginia, where he appeared in 27 games. Allen said last week that Carr has been a pleasant surprise during fall camp due to his instinctual knack for getting to the quarterback. Teegardin said Carr's commitment to getting himself in top shape over the summer has shown up on the field.

"He came in here, he attacked his body," Teegardin said. "He's down weight, but up in muscle mass, so he's very lean right now. He's very explosive. His first step is as good as anybody on our team that's trying to rush the passer. So we're really excited about him."

Though just a freshman, Jones' mobility at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds has made for a handful of impressive moments throughout fall camp. While he joins the Hoosiers with just two games of college experience at Oregon, Jones figures to play a meaningful role at Indiana. 

Jones said he likes that Allen gives his position group the leeway to not play like a robot, and he feels his skillset can excel in both pass rush and coverage situations. 

"[Jones] is physical, and he’s versatile," Teegardin said. "At his high school in Las Vegas, he played tight end and then he was also a defensive guy. We were able to see his athleticism in space catching the ball, he’s a natural athlete. Things we watched while scouting from Oregon was just the physicality factor, which is something that we have to have at that bull spot. He’s going to play a bunch of different spots, as well. He’s just more physically gifted and the mindset – he has an attack mindset that you want."

The bottom line

Losing McCullough was a huge hit for the outside linebacker position, as he would have been a key piece for at least two more seasons. But early signs show that Indiana has done a solid job replacing him, as Jones and Carr have both stood out in fall camp and received high praise from teammates and coaches. Jackson, Jones and Carr should create depth and allow Indiana to stay fresh in late-game scenarios, which was a problem at times last year. And with additional talent on the defensive line, Teegardin thinks double-teaming Indiana could be risky.

"You do have [Andre Carter] on the other side, but you've got a guy like Philip Blidi, [LeDarrius] Cox, big bodies that are athletic. They're going to take multiple guys to block, too, so it's not just the ends, in my opinion," Teegardin said. "It's all four of those core four working together. Then you've got a guy like Aaron Casey that's explosive that can possibly pressure. [Jacob Mangum-Farrar] can possibly pressure, you start bringing Noah [Pierre] off the edge. There's a lot of things to our advantage that offenses have to worry about."

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