Linebacker Questions
The first week of spring practice is over and the biggest decision concerns two players who didn't even practice. Why did the coaching staff decide to tell Chris Galippo he would play weakside linebacker and Devon Kennard he would play middle linebacker?
It seemed like Galippo would be a safer choice in the middle and Kennard could be a dominating strongside linebacker.
Is it because USC wants a freshman to come in at the strongside and feels Galippo can adjust to weakside easier than Kennard? Is Galippo's injured back playing a role in the decision? Or is it simply to clear a path for Lamar Dawson, who may or may not be deserving of wearing No. 55.
Strongside linebacker is certainly the easiest of the three linebacker positions to learn for a freshman.
my guess is you start Kennard in the middle because if he gets hurt, Galippo can probably jump in without having seen many reps, but since Kennard has only played inside for one season, it'd be harder for him to make a transition if Galippo were to get hurt.
KingOfLA, Kennard has shown he is not physical enough or good enough in his tackling to defend the middle while Galippo just doesn't have the speed to run down ball carriers. He's not built for that. For goodness sake, it doesn't take a smart person to see this. Why in the hell would anyone put their slowest linebacker on the weak side, is just beyond me.