UA training camp preview: Revamped LB corps faces hurdles, but still can make up stagger

“Pretty much everyone is new,” said Pandy, one of the few linebackers who isn’t. “But it’s good in a way. New environment, new competition. Everyone has something to prove.”

Besides quarterback, no position has undergone a more dramatic – or more needed — transformation than the linebacking corps. There’s a key difference between the two, though: Two of the three primary contenders for the starting QB job participated in spring practice. Most of the players who project to be key contributors at linebacker did not.

First-year coach Jedd Fisch and his staff tried to get as many transfers in before spring as they could; it just wasn’t possible with the linebackers, even though some signed in February. (Most came aboard later.)

The summer program, which includes limited drills and meetings with coaches, will help the new guys get up to speed. Overall, though, it’ll be a crash course that undoubtedly will test the patience of defensive coordinator Don Brown and his right-hand man, Keith Dudzinski.

How the coaches and players can make up the stagger is the main thrust of our latest position preview ahead of training camp, which starts Friday morning. We included “Vipers” — a hybrid linebacker-safety role in Brown’s defense — in the linebackers’ group.

Linebackers/’Vipers’

Position rank: Fourth (out of eight)

Biggest camp question: With so many new faces, can the linebacking corps gel in time to be ready for opening night?

It’ll be a challenge, but it’s doable. Two key factors should work in the group’s favor.

One is that the players being counted on the most have previous college experience. Jerry Roberts appeared in 20 games, including 15 starts, at Bowling Green. Treshaun Hayward — who only recently joined the team after it appeared that wouldn’t happen earlier in the offseason — appeared in 39 games, with 17 starts, at Western Michigan. Kenny Hebert notched 35 appearances, including seven starts, at Vanderbilt. Rashie Hodge Jr. started 11 of 12 games at New Mexico State after playing two seasons at Glendale Community College. Malik Reed spent one year at Wisconsin, where he redshirted.

So even though Brown’s system is new to them, college football isn’t. That should accelerate the transition at least a little bit.

The presence of those veterans also will enable the coaching staff to bring along the freshman linebackers and “Vipers” — also a sizable group — at their own pace. Barring a rash of injuries, they won’t need to be pressed into duty until they’re ready.

The other element that could help speed the process for the new-look LB corps is that Brown and Dudzinski are in charge of coaching it.

Brown coaches the inside linebackers (middle and weak side); Dudzinski coaches the outside ’backers (strong side and “Viper”). The two have known each other since the mid-1990s and have worked together at several stops since. Fisch has called Dudzinski the Robin to Brown’s Batman.

As such, Dudzinski faced no learning curve whatsoever when he joined the UA staff. He knows exactly what Brown wants out of his linebackers (and the defense as a whole) and how to communicate it. The loudest voices during spring practice were Brown’s and Dudzinski’s; at times, it was difficult to distinguish one from the other.

How all the parts will come together remains to be seen. The only certainty seems to be Pandy, who should start on the weak side. The senior is the one constant in the room amid dizzying change. He’s had a different position coach in each of his five seasons and is learning a new system for the third straight year.

“There’s still some things I need to learn, but schematically and position-wise, I’m pretty sure I got most of it down pat,” Pandy said. “It’s not really hard (to adjust to a new scheme). It just made me understand and evaluate football — understand defensive schemes and what the offense is trying to do with their different positions, different formations. It helped me, honestly, learn football a lot better than what I knew before.”