Inside Linebackers

Matt Bauman has been the best ILB so far this year. To this point, he isn't the player that Cameron Jensen and Kelly Poppinga were but I think he can get to that level by the end of his career since he is only a Junior. I think he has better speed than the other 2 did but he isn't as stout at the point of attack yet. That said, I do think he understands where he needs to be at all times and is gaining confidence with each game.

Shawn Doman may have been the biggest disappointment for me during the 1st 2 games. I expected more from him than I did from Bauman since Doman has such great speed. Unfortunately, he was constantly overrunning plays and leaving big holes to be run through. Also, he was getting wiped out when any OL was getting thru to block him. Doman has played much better in the UCLA and Wyoming games. It does seem to me that Doman may be best suited for what he did last year and that is being the passing down ILB that specializes in coverage. He really is very good at this, especially for an ILB but I don't know that he will ever be great at defending the run. If Clawson or Nixon were to go down, it wouldn't shock me at all to see Doman be moved outside as his skill set probably fits OLB better than ILB.

Matt Ah You is probably the best suited ILB we have right now at defending the run. He appears to be the biggest and strongest of all our ILBs. Right now, to me, it doesn't appear that he plays with a lot of explosion however. He reminds me of a guy from earlier this decade in Mike Tanner. A guy who can make a lot of tackles by being where he needs to be but probably won't make a lot of big "WOW" plays.

Iona Pritchard is a very promising young ILB. He definately looks the part. He has good size and has good speed for the position. It is apparent that he is still learning the nuances of the position and is sometimes out of position but I have no doubt he is destined for a great career.

Spencer Hadley has also looked very good for a true freshman. He doesn't stand out in appearance the way Pritchard does but Hadley seems to have a great nose for the ball as he always seems to be in on the play. Initial observation makes me think he will be a big playmaker throughout his career and is a good candidate for being underappreciated because he will be playing with so many other great LBs.