ANY AND EVERY LINEBACKER WITH A PULSE
The headline is more of a joke, but this is not an opportunity to back away; however, I had high hopes in the preseason for the linebacker position.
Coming into the season, the thought process was that linebacker transfer Elijah Herring would be someone who could lead the defense. The defender had a combined 140 tackles during his two seasons with Memphis and Tennessee, but he looks lost in coverage, and the linebackers as a whole are not coming up in run support effectively.
With that said, there are six more games to improve and the start to a new-look Seminoles is this Saturday against Stanford. Linebacker Justin Cryer talked to the media on Wednesday afternoon, where he mentioned that he blocked out the noise by disabling his social media.
Cryer had higher expectations in 2025, since he flashed last year, but this has to be a learning moment for the junior to grow from. He is the third-leading tackler on the team with 26, but the linebacker core as a whole has to be lined up correctly and attack downhill. I believe that Cryer and the squad will do that this weekend.