Big Ten Football: Ranking the Big Ten Middle Linebackers

Every week, the Big Ten Blog will rank the top players at each position for each team in the Big Ten. Today, we're going with the quarterbacks of the defense, the men responsible for coverage calls and pre-snap adjustments.

Oh, and they'd better make about 100 tackles a year. Yes, it's the middle linebackers. 

12. David Cooper?, Indiana 

Not only does Indiana lose its leading tackler in middle linebacker Jeff Thomas, but the Hoosiers are so hard up for talent and personnel at linebacker that incoming juco transfer David Cooper probably has an edge for this spot, and he's not even on campus yet.

11. Brandon Denmark, Illinois

Denmark takes over for honorable mention All-Big Ten middle linebacker Ian Thomas, and the converted defensive end has the athleticism to be a major factor sometime down the road. He's just behind so much talent and experience here in the conference that it's impossible to move him higher.

10. Mike Rallis, Minnesota

Mike Rallis is one of the most experienced members of the list as a redshirt senior with 18 starts to his credit at outside linebacker. He's moving over to MLB after the graduation of late former teammate Gary Tinsley, and he's already adjusting physically to the move, adding 15 pounds of good weight. He should succeed here.

9. Curtis Grant, Ohio State

Curtis Grant was a five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2011, but his first season was painfully unproductive. Fortunately, so was returning starter Storm Klein, who averaged fewer than four tackles a game at MLB, so Grant quickly wrested control of the top spot in the depth chart from Klein this spring. Look for major improvement from the talented sophomore as he continues to learn the position.

8. Damien Proby, Northwestern

Proby took over the starting role at MLB midway through the 2011 season, and he has impressed Pat Fitzgerald (no slouch as a linebacker himself back in the day) with his grasp of the position. Proby has the speed and physicality to make up for his smallish stature, and assuming his spring injuries don't linger, he should rack up big tackle numbers in the fall. 

7. Dwayne Beckford, Purdue

In terms of sheer talent, Beckford belongs higher on the list; he was Purdue's second-leading tackler in 2011 and has NFL-level ability. But Beckford was actually dismissed from Purdue after a December DUI, and he only recently returned to scholarship and rejoined the program. Assuming his troubles are behind him, Beckford should shine in 2012. Bit of an if, though.

6. Glenn Carson, Penn State

There's a two-team race for best linebacking corps in the Big Ten, and if Michigan State's is the best, Penn State's is not far behind. Star LB Mike Mauti shifted to OLB to make room for Glenn Carson last season, and the Nittany Lions' man in the middle is back after a 74-tackle season as a sophomore. Carson should emerge as one of the leaders of this retooling Penn State defense in 2012.

5. James Morris, Iowa

Morris is set for his third year in the middle for the Hawkeyes, and he's now a far cry from the 215-pound true freshman who was pressed into action in 2010. Morris' instincts are among the best in the conference, and if he learns to more physically impose his will on ball-carriers (which is to say, hit them very hard), it can have a great effect on a defense that's looking to improve. 

4. Kenny Demens, Michigan

Kenny Demens has been a force in the middle for Michigan over the last two seasons, and the athletic linebacker is back for his third season as a starter. Demens led the Wolverines in tackles with 94 on the year in 2011, and if NT Will Campbell can keep blockers off Demens with any reliability, that tackle total could top 100. 

3. Will Compton, Nebraska

Compton shifts over to MLB for his senior season after Lavonte David's departure to the NFL, and he shouldn't miss a beat in 2012 as Nebraska's most experienced linebacker. Compton's physicality makes him perfect for playing in the middle of the field, and the fact that he registered 82 tackles as an OLB in a defense that funnels ball-carriers toward the waiting MLB means Nebraska should absolutely expect more than 80 tackles for two years straight outta Compton. OK, sorry.

2. Max Bullough, Michigan State

In his first season as a starter in 2011, Bullough racked up 89 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, six QB hurries, and two forced fumbles. And he's only going to be a junior in 2012. Michigan State is loaded in the front seven to begin with; to have a middle linebacker like Bullough patrolling the middle of the field is going to make life a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks.

1. Chris Borland, Wisconsin

143 tackles and 19 tackles for loss (both in the top 20 for all defenders nationally). Five forced fumbles. Two picks. Borland is fast, physical, and brilliant at the middle linebacker position, and he should be on the short list for All-American consideration in 2012.