Midseason Position Grades: Linebackers

Oklahoma State’s collection of linebackers this year is a good microcosm for its linebackers historically. Guys who give great effort but are probably a little undersized and lack the speed to be elite. A solid group with no huge names (although Jordan Burton’s star status has grown) or egos that works hard and more or less gets the job done.

OSU’s main trio of Burton, Devante Averette and Chad Whitener has combined for 113 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three interceptions and maybe most importantly has stayed mostly healthy for the entirety of the season.

One of the main issues I have noticed with this linebacking crew is its propensity to drop too deep to help in coverage while teams rack up first-down conversions on long third downs. Opponents are completing third downs at a 36 percent clip which is barely top 50 in the country (although it is better than last year).

Maybe they feel the need to help out with a secondary that has been pretty poor so far or maybe it’s jut the opponents they have faced so far, but Spencer’s dudes have been out of position a lot throughout the first six games which has led to a so-so performance in points per drive allowed so far.

They have also made some great plays. Jordan Burton had an interception against Baylor and then another wilder one against Iowa State last week when Averette tipped the ball to him.

“We have had some good quarters this year,” said Spencer on Wednesday. “Not just that [final one against Iowa State]. We have yet to put together a whole game, which is what we need to do. To answer the bell, we had to do some things to win that game. We had to produce, we had to get the ball back. That was a lot of possessions for us – 17 possessions. So they answered the bell a lot of those possessions, in a critical time.”

OSU has faced a lot of possessions without a ton of help (only 24 teams have faced more plays). The next-leading tackler behind those three main LBs though is Justin Phillips with 13 tackles which is I believe the same number he had in a single game against OU in Bedlam 2014 as a freshman. After that nobody else has double digit tackles.

Calvin Bundage has been a fun addition at times, but it’s clear the staff doesn’t trust him as much as it trusts its veterans. Kevin Henry and Gyasi Akem have combined for 15 tackles over the first half of the season.

So from a statistical standpoint, OSU has been pretty decent. And I’m certainly glad for its ability to stay healthy at a seemingly thin position thus far. But it has also whiffed in big spots (the Central Michigan game comes to mind — 8/15 on third down conversions).

As a group, we gave the linebackers a B which coincides with what my grade for them was as well. A solid group with one star (no pun intended) in Burton and a lot of room for improvement. Heck, that kind of sounds like the OSU team as a whole.

Grade: B