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Indiana LB Marcus Oliver also declares early for NFL draft
Published:
Within a half hour of tailback Devine Redding declaring for the NFL draft, the Hoosiers lost another key underclassman.
The team’s second-leading tackler, Marcus Oliver, announced his intentions to turn pro early:
— Marcus Oliver (@TeamMFO32) January 6, 2017
That’s a tough blow for Tom Allen’s defense, which got positive news the other day that Rashard Fant was returning for another year.
Oliver was one of the key reasons why IU had a defensive revival in 2017. The All-B1G honorable mention linebacker racked up 96 tackles, 15.5 of which were for loss. He also had five forced fumbles and four sacks in the middle of the IU defense.
Without Oliver, the Hoosiers are still expected to turn several key pieces from Allen’s defense. In addition to Fant, Marcelino Ball, Jonathan Crawford and Tegray Scales are all expected to return in 2017.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.