Harris at linebacker should pay off
Safeties move to linebacker all the time. But not middle linebacker. Middle linebacker is the position of brute and brawn. He-men play middle linebacker. Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke and Ray Lewis.
But there Saturday was Nic Harris, a lean strong safety, playing middle linebacker for OU against Kansas. And apparently playing it well. The Sooner defense wasn’t dominant, but it had five straight stops in the second half that allowed OU to take command of the game and win 45-31.
The move of Harris to MLB proves a couple of things:
1. Harris is a tough, smart, dedicated football player. Not every player is willing to make such a move, especially into the cauldron of middle linebacker. Make that move, and a player risks physical assault, if not embarrassment.
2. OU’s lack of depth at linebacker is alarming. Linebacker generally is an easy position to fill. It’s not like defensive tackle or cornerback. Yet the Sooners obviously didn’t have depth beyond their original three starters, or at least the coaching staff didn’t trust the backups.
Last week, everyone questioned why OU didn’t have Austin Box ready to fill in at middle linebacker, insteading of backing up at weakside, behind Travis Lewis. Now we know. The coaches obviously are not ready to put Box in the middle.
The loss of Ryan Reynolds to a knee injury against Texas crippled the Sooner defense. Will the move of Harris solve that for the entire season? Perhaps.
Harris figures to be effective as long as he can stand in against physically-dominant teams, but who in the Big 12 plays that kind of football. The teams on OU’s schedule capable of playing smashmouth largely are behind the Sooners — TCU and Texas.
Texas Tech and OSU are spread offense teams that create gaps and space to move the ball. Nic Harris can survive, and probably thrive, playing linebacker against those offenses.
In effect, OU is playing a dime defense — six defensive backs. Strongside linebacker Keenan Clayton already had been converted from safety. Now Harris joins him. Lewis is the only true linebacker starting for the Sooners.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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