2024 state of the position: BGSU linebackers

This is the fifth story of a seven-part series breaking down position groups on Bowling Green State University’s roster entering the 2024 season.

BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University’s football team had some serious talent, athleticism, and explosiveness in the middle of its defense last season.

Although a couple of critical pieces of that unit are gone, the linebacker corps could be in for another productive year.

Five players with starting experience, including one of BGSU’s leading tacklers in Joseph Sipp, Jr., return at linebacker for the Falcons. BGSU has two enormous holes to fill in Darren Anders, who completed his college eligibility, and Cashius Howell, who transferred to Texas A&M, but the Falcons have some newcomers who could step right in.

Here is a look at the state of BGSU’s linebackers.

2023 in review

BGSU’s linebackers combined for 14½ sacks while also forcing a handful of turnovers as the Falcons finished the year with 33 sacks (tied for 31st in the FBS) and 28 turnovers gained (tied for first). Anders had a team-high 84 tackles and was second with 4½ sacks; for his career, the two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection finished eighth in program history with 360 total tackles and tied for second with 54 games played. Howell, meanwhile, had a team- and MAC-high 9½ sacks last season, which was tied for fourth in BGSU history.

Sipp had 73 total tackles, while Avi McGary had two interceptions and a blocked kick during the 2023 campaign. The duo helped BGSU finish in the top five in the MAC in scoring defense (24 points per game) and total defense (326.1 yards per game).

Co-defensive coordinators Steve Morrison and Sammy Lawanson mentor BGSU’s inside and outside linebackers, respectively. Morrison has been on head coach Scot Loeffler’s staff since May, 2019, while Lawanson joined BGSU in March, 2022. Both were productive linebackers during their college days — Morrison played at Michigan in the early 1990s and Lawanson for San Diego State in the mid-1990s — who have spent nearly 50 years combined coaching at different levels.

Probable starters

Sipp, McGary, and Charles Rosser. It’s hard to predict who will be starting for BGSU. Sipp (13 starts in 25 games the past two seasons), Brock Horne (43 games the past four years with 10 starts in 2021), McGary (38 games the past three years), and Rosser (38 games with three starts the past three years) each have plenty of experience, and if Demetrius Hardamon is healthy enough after suffering a season-ending orthopedic injury at Michigan early last year, he will be in the starting mix as well.

Most intriguing newcomers

Inside linebackers Donny Stephens and Dorian Pringle could be among the players seeing plenty of action on the field as well. Stephens, a former four-star recruit by ESPN out of high school, appeared in 23 games the past two seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to BGSU. He had a career-high four tackles in the 2023 Big 12 Championship loss to Texas.

Pringle, meanwhile, capped off a stellar high school career with an OHSAA Division II state championship at Massillon Washington. The 6-foot, 215-pound freshman went through spring practice with the Falcons earlier this year, and Loeffler had high praise for him during early national signing day in December.

“If he was two inches taller, we wouldn’t be talking to him, and I don’t think the whole Mid-American Conference would be talking to him,” Loeffler said.

Storyline to watch

What will the health status of Hardamon be? The last time the 6-4, 240-pound linebacker took the field during a game ended with a tough scene as he had to be placed on a stretcher and carted off after making a tackle against the Wolverines. When Hardamon is on the field, he can be a force. In 29 games at BGSU, he has 60 total tackles, including 15½ for loss and eight sacks.

What to expect this fall

Players are going to have to step up to fill the void left by Anders, a key leader during his BGSU career, and Howell, a long and game-changing standout. With the experience the Falcons have returning, as well as the familiarity with the coaching staff, BGSU should be able to produce at a high level.