Tigers need LBs to emerge

If there was one area where Bentonville needs some of its players to rise to the forefront before the season starts, it would be at linebacker.

“We lost all four of linebackers, both inside and outside,” Tigers Coach Jody Grant said. “To me, the big question mark was who’s going to step up in those roles. We still don’t know if we have that 100 percent answered at this point, but we’ve had a lot of players to get reps there in team camps and spring practices.”

Before the Tigers entered the two-week “athletic dead period,” Grant is confident Nick Stone has emerged to be a starter at one inside linebacker spot. The other three starters remained undetermined at this point.

Layson Johnson has worked out at both positions and should be in the mix, while Logan Roberson has worked some at inside linebacker and at defensive end. Andrew Wiseman and Brock Skidmore have also been working out at outside linebacker.

“We’re just trying to find the right fit,” Grant said. “Regardless of position, our goal is to get the best 11 on the field defensively. At times, we’ve even toyed with moving some of our safeties down to outside linebacker to figure out our best fit.”

Eli Brooks is another candidate at a linebacker spot, but the sophomore has already emerged as the starter at tight end. Grant likes what he sees in Brooks’ frame and his ability to run pass routes.

Meanwhile, Que Brown appears ready to make some noise at receiver, where he saw limited some last fall. Luke Coon has also impressed Grant in the spring, while J.J. Spafford and Carson Pate have some good things in the offseason and speedster Carson Tucker provides the Tigers with a deep threat and somebody who can run the reverse as well.

They give promise to a Tigers’ offense that returns starting receiver C.J. Brown, Carter Nye at quarterback, and senior Josh Ficklin, who Grant tabs as “the best running back in the state.” They will operate behind an offensive line that features Arkansas commit Joey Sua and Trevor Martinez.