33 Days Until Kansas Football: Previewing the Linebackers

We continue our positional previews by moving back through the defense. Up next is the linebackers.

Each week, we will take a deep dive into one of the 10 main position groups, highlighting the key players to watch and giving you an idea of what to expect from the position this year. This week, we continue with the defense as we move off the line but stick with the front seven. Today, we look at the linebackers.

Other Positional Previews:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs
• Wide Receivers
• Tight Ends
  
• Offensive Line
• Defensive Line

Last Season

The Jayhawks had 7 different players who recorded a stat last season across the linebacking positions. Here is a list of each of those players (* - player is no longer with the team):

Player Name	Position	Games Played	Total Tackles	Solo Tackles	Tackles For Loss	Sacks	QB Hits	Passes Defended	Interceptions	Fumbles Forced	Fumbles Recovered
Rich Miller		12	79	57	5	2	0	2	0	0	1
Gavin Potter		12	78	46	5	1	1	1	1	0	1
Taiwan Berryhill		12	32	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nate Betts*		12	27	12	1.5	1	1	1	0	0	0
Nick Channel		11	16	9	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	1
Cornell Wheeler		8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jay Dineen*		3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

The metrics are split on the Jayhawk linebackers from last season, with CFB Winning Edge giving Gavin Potter the edge in terms of production from last season, while Pro Football Focus rates Potter as one of the worst defenders in all of football. But regardless of your evaluation of his performance, there is no denying that he was one of the leaders of the defense.

Potter teamed up with Rich Miller to contribute the majority of the production from the linebacking positions last year. They both played at a decent level, but will need to step it up if the Jayhawks are going to take a big jump this season.

Cause For Concern

While there is some argument to be made about how much was truly the fault of the linebackers themselves, the play was pretty bad last year. Potter and Miller were the only two players who both played significant snaps and performed at even at a decent level. And the lack of quality depth at the position was something that the coaching staff had to actively scheme around, which ultimately caused ripples throughout the defense.

And even though the Jayhawks brought in multiple transfer players at the position, they are still going to be pretty thin at the position, meaning that there are likely still going to be times where they play a 4-2-5 scheme to help out.

Reasons for Optimism

The simple reason is the transfers of Craig Young, Lorenzo McCaskill and Eriq Gilyard. Young and Gilyard were easily the two most talented recruits coming out of high school of the entire linebacker position group, and McCaskill has been so productive in his time at Louisiana that he currently is the highest rated linebacker according the CFB Winning Edge.

And the Jayhawks retained the vast majority of their production at the position from last season, meaning that the transfers are adding to the talent base instead of having to replace guys that are no longer there. Given the comments of the coaching staff during spring practices, it seems like this position went from being a huge liability to one of the cornerstones of a much improved defense.

Projected Depth Chart

I don't really see a reason why the Jayhawks would shift away from their base 4-3 defense that they have been using the last few years, especially since the linebacker position is still a little thin in terms of depth. But what I don't expect to see is the need to flex safeties into those linebacker spots, except to address specific matchup needs. So we'll run through the projected 2-deep with 3 linebacker spots in mind.

LB1: Rich Miller/Taiwan Berryhill

Miller was a standout on the defense last year as both a vocal leader and one of the main producers on the defense. He had less upside than fellow linebacker Gavin Potter, but his floor was much higher last year. He is the most consistent linebacker in the room for the Jayhawks, and I expect that to lead to him being the main guy at the position.

I expect Berryhill to take a step back from starter to primary backup this season, but this isn't necessarily a knock on his play. I just believe that the talent brought in will allow the Jayhawks to be more flexible on defense, and Berryhill will be able to sub in with some experience in some specific matchups.

LB2: Gavin Potter/Lorenzo McCaskill

Potter was a player last season who had some really good flashes, but the consistency wasn't quite where you wanted it. However, as we go towards the end of the season, his play was spectacular, and based on the comments during spring practices, it appears he has continued to build upon that. I expect him to be the main option at the middle linebacker position.

McCaskill played really well at Louisiana last season, earning second-team all-Sun Belt honors. I think there is a real chance that he could be the starting linebacker by the end of the season, but at the very least he will be the main backup and potential extra linebacker if Kansas ever played a 3-4 scheme.

LB3: Craig Young/Eriq Gilyard

I honestly am torn between these two, because I think Young and Gilyard could both make a case to be starting. I'm not sure exactly why, but the impression I get is that Young is just a bit ahead and will likely come out of camp with the starting job.

That being said, I think both of these guys are going to get a lot of playing time for the Jayhawks this season. Given his background, I could also see Young shifting into the the role as the 5th DB if Kansas ever went 3-3-5 or 4-2-5.

Gilyard played very well in his time at UCF, and I expect that Kansas fans will get to hear his name quite often this season.

Depth

There is not a lot of experienced depth past the 2-deep, as there are a pair of sophomores and a pair of redshirt freshman in addition to senior Nick Channel. Barring injuries, I don't expect that there will be a lot of playing time for any of these guys except for filling out special teams roles. The hope is that some of the young guys develop enough this season to be reliable backups next year.

Coaching Staff

Coaching the linebackers for the Jayhawks is Chris Simpson, who joined the staff in 2021 when Lance Leipold was hired. Prior to coming to the Jayhawks, he coached for six seasons at Buffalo, also coaching the linebackers. He also has coaching stops at Eastern Michigan, Grand Valley State, Nebraska-Omaha and Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Simpson's units are best known for their consistency, with at least one player named to the All-MAC team in each of his seasons with the Bulls. The expectation is that the development we saw last season was just a preview of what we can see this season.

Overall Thoughts

This is still probably the thinnest position on the entire roster, with just enough core contributors to fill out the 2-deep and half of those being brand new to the team. But it's a roster of interesting talents and guys that have shown great promise. It's only a matter of time before we see significant development, and the man they have leading the unit has shown the ability to get the best out of his players.

It feels a little weird still talking about the linebackers as a strength of the defense, but it's easy to see why the coaching staff is excited about the potential for this unit.

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