First world problems: Pete Kwiatkowski has an embarrassment of riches at Sam linebacker to sort through
Pretty much all of the focus on linebacker has centered around Anthony Hill and his transition to Mike linebacker. Any residual oxygen has been focused on super senior David Gbenda returning to man the Will/Dime position.
There hasn’t been much interest in Sam, probably because Texas fans have yet to see a truly disruptive player at the position. Though, I will say, one-time walk-on Jett Bush played Sam linebacker quite capably last year. He was a physical player, so much so the staff once miscast him as a Jack (the Edge to the field) out of necessity, but he was also more athletic than given credit for. The New England Patriots took notice and signed the unheralded player as an un-drafted free agent after the NFL Draft.
Senior Morice Blackwell has also played the position the previous couple seasons in addition to his duties at Will/Dime.
What are the duties of the Sam linebacker?
To clarify these distinctions, the Sam comes on when the defense goes to ‘base’ and the Star/nickel departs. The Sam aligns to the field. The Will aligns to the boundary and is simply considered the Dime when the team is in nickel and Will when it is in base.
According to PFF, Bush played 209 snaps on the defensive line, almost entirely aligned outside of the offensive tackle. He also played 44 snaps in the box and 18 over the slot. Blackwell played 40 snaps on the defensive line, 96 in the box, and 48 in the slot. But again, he also played Dime.
Essentially we see 250 snaps where Sam is on the line of scrimmage outside of the offensive tackle. AKA, prime pass rushing real estate. We also see a solid mix of in the box and over the slot alignments. This essentially underlines the duties of Sam.
For 2024, Texas has an embarrassment of riches at the position
Blackwell is still around but given depth at Will/Dime isn’t all that great, it would make sense to have him platoon with Gbenda. That doesn’t mean he won’t play Sam, I just don’t think he’ll be the main option there.
When Texas pursued Trey Moore my default assumption was he’d replace Bush. Moore offers a more explosive option off the edge than Bush and he’s built more like an off-ball linebacker for those box duties. It made perfect sense, except, Moore has made waves no matter where he lines up since the moment he arrived in January. I still anticipate seeing him at Sam but his main position is Buck (the Edge to the boundary).
True freshman Colin Simmons makes a ton of sense in the Sam role, especially when it comes to the snaps on the line of scrimmage. Sam is a simplified way for the five-star to get his feet wet and for the staff to pin his ears back and let him be an athlete. This is similar to what we saw with Anthony Hill early last year, Hill just turned out to be such a quick study he was ready to play off-ball linebacker quicker than most freshmen.
Redshirt freshman Derion Gullette is a prime candidate for Sam. Again, I’ll point towards the simplified nature of the position, but he also has really good size and twitch. This would be an excellent way to introduce him to the field before he evolves more fully into an off-ball linebacker.
Gullette’s classmate, Tausili Akana, is yet another candidate. Akana was signed to rush the passer. The staff didn’t know if he’d get big enough for Edge but even if he didn’t grow into a full-time Buck he offers pass rushing ability from different angles.
Could we see the staff mix and match based on game context?
Base defense is largely used when the opposing offense runs two tight-end sets. Texas matches the extra tight end with a bigger body. Teams like to run out of this personnel, but if you’re like Texas, they also like to pass out of these sets. That’s why Texas signed a guy like Amari Niblack and why Juan Davis may be poised to make some noise. An athletic flex tight end could create a mismatch if Sam isn’t comfortable in coverage. This is why I still think we’ll see Blackwell at times.
Don’t discount the athleticism of Moore in this role. In fact, playing Sam could be an excellent audition for him as a future pro. Scouts will question his size and length for Edge in the NFL.
Simmons is bigger than Moore and won’t have those same questions from scouts, but he does possess good ability to get into coverage. But will he be comfortable in that role?
What about pass rushing packages?
There will be times we’ll see Barryn Sorrell at Jack, Ethan Burke at Buck, and Moore at Sam, but that’s not the most explosive pass rushing group. I would expect to see Burke at Jack and then one of Moore and Simmons at Buck and Sam. Now we’re talking, especially with tenacious blitzers like Hill and Gbenda out on the field.
Closing
As Paul said on a Livestream in recent weeks, Texas can be multiple within personnel groupings. Base defense could look a number of different ways depending on which personnel Pete Kwiatkowski likes for each situation.
I’m not sure how it will all shake out, but It’s a great benefit the Edge coach is also the defensive coordinator when it comes to sorting through all the player strengths and weaknesses and how they match with different play calls.
In that regard, PK has not had it this good since his arrival to Austin.
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