2022 Gophers Position Previews: Linebackers

The sixth season of the P.J. Fleck era at Minnesota begins Sept. 1 against Jerry Kill's New Mexico State. Ski-U-Blog will have previews of the Gophers' notable players in each position group. This edition of the preview series concerns the linebackers.

Likely Starters

After the first few games of the 2020 season, it might have been difficult to conceive of Mariano Sori-Marin becoming one of the Gophers' most valuable defenders, and that being a good thing. He looked totally lost until the team went on a COVID-forced hiatus in November. When he came back, Sori-Marin was a sharper, more decisive, altogether more polished linebacker.

With Jack Gibbens next to him in 2021, Sori-Marin continued that progress and was part of one of the conference's most reliable linebacker duos. The two led the team in tackles (73.0 for Gibbens, 64.0 for Sori-Marin) and in non-sack tackles for loss (4.5 and 5.0, respectively). Sori-Marin, for his part, tied Boye Mafe for the most havoc plays on the team (11.0).

To add on to the steps he took as a run defender near the end of the previous season, Sori-Marin became an adequate coverage linebacker. He broke up three passes and intercepted one, and per Pro Football Focus, he allowed just 7.0 yards per catch.

Overall, Gibbens was the better linebacker of the two, but Sori-Marin was a solid starter whose position is in zero doubt entering his final season at the U of M. At this point, he's not an NFL prospect but could make his case if he finds another gear.

We might have a hunch who the other starter is but won't be certain until the opener. After backup duty in 2019, Braelen Oliver looked ready to start — and then missed the 2020 season due to serious injury. He was a backup again last year, and he didn't look like he could be anything more until the back end of the season. Oliver's best performance was arguably against Wisconsin, where he made 2.5 tackles and was regularly in the right places in coverage. (If his arms were an inch longer, he would have broken up a couple passes.)

I'm still convinced Braelon Allen was short here.

Stacking better games at the end of last season after coming back from injury, plus simple seniority, could mean Oliver is on track to start. That's no guarantee, though, considering we haven't seen him play significant snaps at a high level for an extended run of games. His Wisconsin performance impressed more than amazed, and PFF graded him pretty poorly for the whole year. (PFF was also lukewarm on Sori-Marin's season, for the record, and I disagree with that.) With his leg injuries totally behind him, the knee brace gone, and regular playing time finally his, Oliver could conceivably unlock something. It's up to him to prove he can.

Key Backups

If anyone takes the starting job from Oliver, it could be Cody Lindenberg, who missed the last 10 games of last season. For the time where he was available, Lindenberg appeared as a special teamer and in mop-up duty at Colorado.

Lindenberg wouldn't be a stranger to the starting lineup, however, having had that role for the first three games of the 2020 season. His play was full of mistakes. He was also a true freshman coming off an abbreviated preseason at the height of the pandemic. You can't really blame him. The fact he had to start so soon should have been a signal that the defense was going to struggle.

The 2021 and 2022 spring games are the most we've seen of Lindenberg on defense since he was thrown into the fire. In the more recent edition, he didn't make a major impact but never looked out of his depth. Still just a redshirt sophomore, he has room to grow. It's difficult to say how good he'll be, but Lindenberg will play plenty.

Highland Park High School's Josh Aune missed the whole 2021 season but is back, and he is also vying to start. When we last saw Aune, he made a couple of plays (including a game-sealing interception against Purdue) but on the whole did not impress. Like the rest of the defense in 2020, it took some time for him to settle in, and even when he did, Aune had his problems fitting runs and keeping his eyes where they needed to be.

At the same time, the rest of the defense showed a year ago that a lot can change when given a more normal offseason. Aune could, like plenty others on this defense, show he's better than what he put on tape two years ago. At the very least, having this much experience at linebacker is a positive.

In his college career, Sori-Marin has typically been the weak side ("Will") linebacker, lined up on the boundary side of the formation. Sori-Marin could, however, be trusted with more ground to cover and move to the middle ("Mike"). Gibbens' replacement in the starting lineup, whether that's Oliver or someone else, would therefore take over at Will.

Against the burlier teams on their schedule, or in short-yardage situations, the Gophers will bring out a third linebacker ("Sam") to take the place of the nickelback on the field side. In the past, Oliver has occupied this spot. In 2022, if he's the new Will, he could stay there in these situations, with the most trusted coverage linebacker taking the third spot. Alternatively, Oliver might slide back over to Sam; in that case, it would make sense for the team's third-favorite linebacker to take over on the weak side.

In addition to his long-running special teams contributions, Donald Willis has played all three linebacker spots at points. It doesn't appear he's in the mix or a starting job but will contribute this season and might be in the mix at Sam.

Per PFF, 8.4 percent of Willis' snaps last year were as a pass rusher, and 57.8 percent were in coverage. Each figure was the highest among Gopher linebackers, which reflects how he entered mostly on passing downs. Often in these spots, Joe Rossi wanted someone speedier than Gibbens or Sori-Marin on the field to blitz or cover extra ground, and that sometimes meant calling upon the 220-pound Willis. Here, Willis was a spy against Adrian Martinez, and he batted down a pass.

Potential Rotation Options

When injuries eviscerated Minnesota's running back depth last season, Derik LeCaptain was pressed into duty as a "running back-er." Though limited to three carries and some pass protection snaps, he acquitted himself well enough and even scored a touchdown at Northwestern.

LeCaptain should not have to play any offense in 2022 but will continue serving as special teams captain and may even get into some games at his normal position. That doesn't seem probable, but an injury or two might require his contributions. Otherwise, he may be in the mix for a role in 2023.

Notables Unlikely to Contribute

Redshirt sophomore Lucas Finnessy is another special teamer who will not play a part on defense unless something bad happens. He only began covering kicks in the last couple games of the season, so he's barely even had a chance to make a tackle. Devon Williams redshirted last year, which means he's seen even less of the field than Finnessy — one real game, to be exact. If you were to break the depth chart into pairings, it looks like the two of them would make up the fourth. They both have plenty of eligibility left, which means they have plenty of time to work their way up.

The Gophers signed two linebackers last winter, and both need to put on more muscle before they can play in the Big Ten: Maverick Baranowski from Florida and Joey Gerlach from Woodbury. (Gerlach is converting from safety.) Either could bring speed and violent tackling to special teams next year before getting their chance on defense in the future.