AMHERST — There has been some shuffling in the UMass linebacking corps this season.
The Minutemen opened the season with sophomore Tyris Lebeau starting against Duquesne, but he was injured in the first half and has returned to limited duty the past two weeks. His backup to begin the year, Xavier Steele, made six tackles in the first two weeks, but has been out with an injury since Sept. 8 against Georgia Southern. Cole McCubrey made the start against Boston College in the second game but was replaced for the Georgia Southern contest by senior safety Tyler Hayes to combat the triple option.
The one constant next to middle linebacker Bryton Barr has been Chinedu Ogbonna, a sophomore who has started all five games this season. The Marietta, Georgia, native has racked up 34 tackles, the second-most on the team, and is coming off what coach Mark Whipple called the best game of his career against Charlotte.
Ogbonna was only credited with five tackles, but he made his presence known in many other ways, Whipple said.
“Chinedu was a force out there,” Whipple said. “He made some plays, had some pressures and hits on the quarterback. He looked a little more comfortable, and he showed his speed in some phases.”
Ogbonna said he is more comfortable in his position, which has allowed him to be more confident in his play. He said the keys to his success this season have been his energy on the field and keeping things simple by not trying to do more than what is asked of him.
“I’ve just been doing my job, staying in my gaps and playing assignment football,” Ogbonna said. “(I’ve improved) my communication on the field and I’m feeling, I don’t how to explain it, I just feel good out there making plays.”
The position opposite Ogbonna has featured a few more players rotating through, but McCubrey, who began the year as Barr’s backup in the middle, has taken control, earning the start the past two weeks alongside Barr and Ogbonna. Last season, McCubrey made his mark as a special teams player while slowly working his way onto the depth chart at linebacker.
Now that he has been used more on defense than special teams, McCubrey has begun to flourish with the added reps and experience. In the past two games, the Boylston native has made 15 tackles and been a larger presence around the ball than earlier this season. He said his new role as a starter this season has sharpened his focus and made him more attentive to the details.
“I moreso caught up with the speed of the game and learned I need to take it seriously when I’m reviewing,” McCubrey said. “Leading up to that game, I really got to practice well and then just go out there and play.”
In many ways, McCubrey and Ogbonna exemplify the youth movement that is occurring within the UMass linebacking corps. James Bowe Jr., Barr and suspended linebacker Jarell Addo are the only three upperclassmen listed on the roster at the position who have made an appearance for the Minutemen. That leaves a plethora of sophomores and freshmen to fill in the rest of the depth chart, some of whom had limited experience last year either as a reserve or on special teams.
The new faces have taken their lumps at times this season, but linebackers coach Sean Duggan said the group has demonstrated an eagerness to learn and continue to improve with every rep they take on the practice field and on game day.
“With game experience, you get the jitters out early,” Duggan said. “They just come to work every day with a very workmanlike attitude and they get better and better and better. We just got to keep grinding every day and hopefully it keeps paying dividends for us on Saturdays.”