Linebackers play a critical role in any defense, but for the Cincinnati Bearcats, it is taken to an extreme. It begins and ends with the fact that linebackers coach Marcus Freeman is also the defensive coordinator. Freeman, who is in his second season at his current post, knows linebacking inside and out. He played the position for four years at Ohio State and even went on to get a shot at an NFL job. Since then, he has been coaching linebackers all over, with jobs at Kent State, Purdue and now UC.
Freeman took over a defense that was used to employing talented linebackers.