OU, perhaps more than any other school, is well known for taking "tweeners" primarily at the LB/S spot. The Real Roy Williams made a pretty decent living off the hybrid role and now Brent Venables and the OU defensive staff have made a habit out of taking a kid that might not be quite big enough to play LB or quite fast enough to be a safety. P.L. Lindley is a little unique in that his frame could support the necessary added bulk to play LB full time, but would he lose his 4.5 speed? So do you then keep him at his current weight of 225 and play him in that Roy-back/nickel spot close to the LOS as another defender against the run? Coach V and his staff will have an interesting and unique challenge in finding a spot for Lindley, but having a kid who is good enough to play two positions is never really a bad problem to have.
The video above is pretty impressive in my opinion. Kid can close like a missile and he looks fluid in his hips while dropping into coverage as well. And he's clearly not afraid to lay the wood. I think the ability he shows in coverage is a HUGE advantage for him seeing time before some of the other OU LBs. Most Sooner fans are fed up with watching our LBs helplessly trailing in coverage, so if this kid is able to work with Schmitty and put on some good weight he could have a legit chance to see the field next year. He just reminds me of one of those kids who comes in and will be a great special teams player initially (lord knows we could use some on kickoff coverage) and then works his way into the starting D. Lindley also strikes me as one of those kids OU finds that isn't necessarily a heralded recruit, but winds up being one of those kids you say "How do school ____ miss on that kid?"
Lindley 6'2" 225 with a 4.5 forty is a three star recruit and the #34 overall OLB in the country per Rivals. He turned down offers from Houston, Rice, and SMU to commit to OU.
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