When the Spartans take the field Saturday against Eastern Michigan, don’t expect to see last year’s defense.
Middle linebacker Josh Thornhill has moved on to the NFL, and the smash-mouth style MSU fans learned to love went with him.
The task of replacing last season’s leading tackler goes to junior Mike Labinjo, who finished third on the team with 64 tackles last season. At 6-foot-1, 256 pounds, the move inside doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
But Labinjo’s surrounding cast seems a little weak - on the scales that is.
The weak-side linebacker will be 6-0, 220-pound sophomore Ronald Stanley, while the strong-side linebacker will be 5-11, 200-pound junior Monquiz Wedlow.
One can easily question the unit’s overall size, but co-captain and starting strong safety Thomas Wright said that plays to the unit’s strength this season.
“The big difference is we have speed this year,” Wright said. “We were fast last year, but this year we’re a lot faster as far as getting to the ball.”
To reach that level of all-around team speed, the unit was forced to sacrifice size. To compensate, they will use multiple sets with a variety of blitz packages.
And don’t expect head coach Bobby Williams to hold back against the Eagles.
“We’re not always going to be in one set. We’re going to give this team a lot to look at,” he said.
“We do have a lot of flexibility with our linebackers.”
Both Labinjo and Wedlow have played multiple linebacker positions in the past, and Williams plans to shift the group around depending on the situation.
Wright said just how much the Spartans will blitz is still uncertain, as defensive coordinator Bill Miller hasn’t tipped his hat just yet.
Perhaps the biggest reason for MSU’s new-found desire to take risks is its secondary, which ranked 14th in the nation in passing defense last season. Wright leads the unit, which returns seven starters.
“We’ve got a lot of guys back there who can play,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be the strength of our defense.”
Joining Wright is sophomore free safety Jason Harmon and senior cornerbacks DeMario Suggs and Cedric Henry.
And depth isn’t a concern as senior Broderick Nelson, freshman Ashton Watson and sophomore Roderick Maples are all capable of starting if called upon.
But no matter how good the secondary is, the front seven must hold their own.
The increased speed at linebacker should help create pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and the defensive line has the talent and depth to help push the unit to the top of the conference.
Junior Kyle Rasmussen and sophomore Kevin Vickerson will look to clog the middle, while junior Greg Taplin and sophomore Clifford Dukes will try to hold down the ends.
On paper, the unit looks strong and the plan to incorporate more team speed makes sense. But for the Spartans to fulfill expectations this season, the gambles at linebacker will need to pay big dividends.
And that’s just what Williams expects to see come Saturday.
“I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the defense this preseason,” Williams said.
“They’ve done a pretty good job against the first string offense, even shutting them down sometimes.”
