Virginia football 2012 outlook: Linebackers

Two years after being viewed as the weakest position in Virginia’s defense, the linebacker corps decked in orange and blue has gained a new outlook.

With rising seniors Steve Greer and LaRoy Reynolds, two of the team’s most experienced defenders and the returning leading tacklers on the team, back in the fold in 2012, much will be asked from the position by defensive coordinator Jim Reid.

Part of the mission will be to provide leadership, which seems natural. Another demand surrounds the need to improve in making open-field tackles, something that has plagued the Cavaliers in numerous games the past two seasons.

“Both of those are guys are back and a lot will be asked of them as seniors,” Virginia coach Mike London said. “They have played in some big games, made big-time plays and have a great knowledge of the system that we run.”

While Greer is expected to miss most, if not all of spring practice for the second straight year with an injury, Reynolds should be the face of the defense in the 15 spring practice sessions.

Reynolds, who has made 24 starts the past two years, made major strides from his sophomore campaign to the 2011 season, one that included 81 tackles in the regular season and seven stops behind the line of scrimmage.

The improvement left Reid predicting that Reynolds, who did not have a sack, would be selected in the 2013 NFL Draft.

“He made a dramatic improvement in the detail of playing great and playing fast in one season,” Reid said. “You never want to slow a player down. Ever. You just want to get him in a proper angle of pursuit, of converge, of coverage.”

With Greer and Reynolds leading the charge defensively in 2011, the Cavaliers finished the regular season ranked second in the ACC in red zone defense and only five teams nationally had better production inside the Virginia 20-yard line.

Aaron Taliaferro, who improved drastically as his career progressed, was also a mainstay on the field after fellow outside linebacker Ausar Walcott broke a bone in his hand and missed the final three games of the season.

Taliaferro will need to be replaced at “Sam” linebacker and while Walcott could remain an option, London said that the rising senior may have grown so much that he would merely be “a guy that can stand up and come off the edge.”

A host of younger players could be coached into playing the “Sam” linebacker position, including current middle linebacker Henry Coley. In the Chick-fil-A Bowl, a game that Virginia lost 43-24 to Auburn, Coley made his first start.

Coley, a rising sophomore, called the signals in place of Greer, who tore ligaments in his knee that required minor surgery.

“I think I could learn to play the Sam linebacker spot,” Coley said after the game, “but we have some other players that are capable, too.”

That group, London noted, could include another rising sophomore that played on passing downs during the latter games of the season.

“Dequan Romero is going to be a good player,” London added. “He played pretty well down the stretch and learned a lot this season.”

Virginia made a major splash in recruiting at linebacker, as well, landing a verbal commitment from Norfolk Christian four-star recruit Kwontie Moore.

Ranked as the second-best player in Virginia for the Class of 2012, Moore recently played in an all-star game with top-rated defensive end Eli Harold, also a verbal commitment to play for London.

“Kwontie balled out in the game,” said Harold. “He scored a touchdown, made some big tackles, and forced a fumble.

“We were feeding off of each other's energy. He really impressed me out there. He can hit hard and he can cover in passing situations. Kwontie’s a total player.”