Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball and recruiting coverage. Sign up with TheHoosier.com here.
Indiana head coach Tom Allen began his tenure in Bloomington as the defensive coordinator and brought with him a new position to the defensive side of the ball. Called the 'bull', it was a cross between a linebacker and defensive end.
It was a position that was extremely unique and one that was played by one of the better athletes on the roster as someone who could bring a lot of versatility to the field.
Now, as Tom Allen takes over some additional responsibilities with the defense that he previously gave up, the bull position is going though a bit of a change.
"There's no doubt it's something that we've really expanded," IU head coach Tom Allen said this week. "When I first got here, we called it by that same name but really recruited more of a defensive end guy in high school to play that position. Now, we've really transitioned into recruiting more of a linebacker guy to play that position, a longer, taller linebacker from high school.Just feel like that's a better way to recruit that spot It's becoming more effective for us to do that"
Entering this season, 6-foot-2 and 250-pound Alfred Bryant is slated to be the starter at the bull this season. He has played 40 games in his Indiana career and started all 12 games last season at the bull. Throughout his career, Bryant has flashed his potential but hasn't played as good as he has during fall camp this year.
"A guy like Alfred Bryant, as he's been here, he's playing his best, I believe, since he's been here, and it needs to continue," Allen said.
While Bryant will see a lot of snaps at the position, he will be accompanied by a few different players who now have the potential and the skillset Indiana is looking for with this expanded role of the position.
"You add Myles Jackson to that spot which is really more of an outside linebacker body type, 250-pound guy that's strong and athletic and really can give us a real presence in the run game and also the pass rush ability," Allen said. "I think that's the thing we're trying to get more out of it is the pass rush and the guy who has the flexibility to do multiple things. He's really a hybrid for us when you think about a hybrid in the secondary.
"Well, the bull is our hybrid position on the defensive line/outside linebacker. Really, it's the edge guy as they would kind of call it in today's defense and he could be a 3-4 outside linebacker or 4-3 rush-end, that kind of guy. It's a unique skill set to find."
"Bringing Myles Jackson in at that BULL position to provide depth for [Alfred] Bryant, who is playing at a phenomenal level right now. I haven't been here, but listening to the guys in the room talk, at the highest level that [Bryant] has played at," IU defensive coordinator Chad Wilt said. "Part of that might be because Myles Jackson is here and Myles Jackson is pushing him and it's not competing against, it's competing with each other."
The 6-foot-2 and 255-pound Jackson arrived from UCLA this offseason and has been someone that the staff has raved about, even dating back to spring camp when he enrolled.
Indiana also adds 6-foot-5 and 230-pound freshman Dasan McCullough. The four-star linebacker recruit is another player who the coaching staff has mentioned as being someone that has played his way into seeing snaps in multiple positions.
"Dasan McCullough is also playing there (bull) in situational things, and I think that's a real strength of his without question, what he really played in high school," Allen said. "To the field now, he's more of a boundary for us but to that kind of person to rush the passer, drop in coverage, play some man, do some different things with that and per the call is where we're looking for it. That's where the linebacker part comes in with that ability to track the running back at times so it's just different things that he does more than just a traditional defensive end and we felt like in order to recruit the best players for that spot we really need to target the way we're going to package that and brand that position as a player and what we're looking for."
While Bryant, Jackson and even McCullough will man down the bull spot, the entire linebacking core will be a vital position this season after losing its leader on and off of the field in Micah McFadden. It's a position Indiana upgraded this offseason in terms of depth, but there are still questions as to who will step up -- but it's needed.
"That's where we become really good and seeing that growth. Seeing our linebacker core grow with Bradley Jennings Jr. and adding Jared Casey," Wilt said. "Jared Casey's doing a great job of growing and developing from where he was in the spring. But it's pushed Aaron Casey and it's pushed Cam Jones to become better players having those guys around them."
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
