Pat Schiller suffered ACL tear before Spring Game

I will never advocate wishing certain players get hurt, but this could turn out to be a good thing. First Kube, Butler & Delegal have to stay healthy the entire year. Butler is a everydown linebacker, if he stays healthy Schiller’s depth at MLB will not be an issue. I think on the weakside Delegal will fit better in what they are trying to do. Schiller is a nice player, but where he drove my crazy is in his lack of playmaking ability. He often over pursued and missed tackles because of it. He is a classic overachiever who often times was just a step too slow. The middle as well as the weakside spots in a 4/3 defense require speed and quickness at those spots. As much as it’s reported he made 82 tackles last season, only 28 of them were solo. I can’t wait to see the difference between him last year and Butler this year in that respect. Delegal is faster and will fly to the ball in pursuit.

Also of the incoming class, Bass is a playmaker that comes from a winning program. (Won Florida Class 6A State Championship) This classification of schools contains both Miami Northwestern and Miami Central who both were ranked nationally last year. Bass and Butler played against each other in high school and both made plays in the game. Butler had 14 tackles and scooped a fumble for a TD and Bass put his team in position to win with a sack and forced fumble. I can’t wait to see the two of them together. Let’s not forget that Delegal originally enrolled at NC State and Butler was recruited by some heavyweight SEC and Big 12 schools and fell to us because of grades. Bass also had an offer from Mississippi and would have had more if he wasn’t undersized. He is a legitimate 4.4/4.5 speed guy. Like most coaches, NIU is wary of playing true freshmen. This injury forces their hand and in the long run will be better for the team. Once he rehabs from this injury Schiller may have a difficult time cracking the lineup again. With these Florida boys, Delegal, Butler & Bass we are in a whole new class of playmaking ability and speed that we haven’t seen.