Going into his last college game, Marlon Williams has made 37 starts in a row dating to week two of his sophomore season. One game remains this season, so Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill isn’t preoccupied with questions such as who will succeed Williams as the Red Raiders’ weak-side linebacker.
He does have a few early preferences, though.
Not Sam Fehoko. McNeill said he liked the rotation the Raiders had this season at middle linebacker with starter Brian Duncan and wants to keep it that way.
Not Julius Howard. Although Howard, a junior, played outside linebacker most of his career, McNeill prefers to keep him at safety, to which he made a smooth transition this year. Howard had a productive second half of the season as a sub-package safety.
Not Tyrone Sonier. McNeill has invested three years developing Sonier on the strong side, where he backs up Bront Bird.
McNeill would like a young player to come along in the off-season and spring practice and make a claim on the job. He started one experiment in pre-Alamo Bowl practices, moving true freshman Daniel Cobb from safety to weak-side linebacker.
“I think he can handle it,’’ McNeill said this week. “He’s been doing a pretty good job for us. When you move a DB down, it’s the run game he has to get used to. But he’s got athleticism and a really good mentality about him. The pass-coverage part, he’s been a safety and that helps him in pass coverage quite a bit. The run game is the phase he’ll have to learn.’’
McNeill said nothing is set in stone regarding the Cobb experiment, but the 6-foot-1, 206-pound freshman does offer some of the skills for which McNeill is looking.
With the prevalence of spread-passing offenses in the Big 12 Conference, McNeill said the ability to cover receivers is paramount for whoever wins the position.
“There’s a certain type of guy that I want at (weak-side linebacker),’’ McNeill said. “I’m looking for that guy that can cover down more on wide receivers. He has to cover down on wide receivers more than a (strong-side linebacker) normally. People are spreading us out.’’
That’s part of the reason McNeill says he’ll keep the middle linebacker pairing of Duncan and Fehoko intact, even though those two and Bront Bird will go into next season as the team’s most experienced linebackers.
McNeill said Fehoko doesn’t need to be covering receivers, but he does like what the Hawaiian did this season in the middle.
“I tried to develop more into a player, a Big 12 caliber kind of guy,’’ said Fehoko, who is a sophomore this season. “I’m learning more every day. Especially getting game reps this season, I’ve learned a lot more than I used to. I’ve seen a lot more stuff.’’
Duncan has a team-high 80 tackles, plus five pass breakups. Fehoko had 18 tackles but McNeill said he developed a “Big 12 mentality,’’ so his playing time increased.
“That’s due to Sam’s practice habits, production in practice and understanding the tempo that we need to be successful,’’ McNeill said. “He’s earned that. Sam needs to be in the middle. He’s not a guy that needs to cover down on the outside (receivers).’’
Junior Blake Collier was in position to succeed Williams before he decided early this season to give up football. Other possibilities are sophomore Riley Harvey, who played in eight games, primarily on special teams, this season, and true freshmen.
Tech’s February signing class yielded Dallas Bishop Lynch’s Dion Chidozie, who is training on the weak side, and Keller Fossil Ridge’s Brandon Mahoney, who missed virtually the entire season’s worth of practices with a shoulder injury. McNeill said he hasn’t made up his mind where Mahoney fits best, but thinks he has strong-side linebacker potential.
“He’s got a lot of explosiveness about him in drills, maybe because his legs are pretty fresh, too,’’ McNeill said. “He’s shown quickness and change of direction and speed that I like. I’m anxious to see him put the pads back on.’’
McNeill said Chidozie seemed to lack confidence early on, but looks more comfortable lately.
Story courtesy of www.redraiders.com
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