Shaq Quarterman, Mike Pinckney and Romeo Finley - last year's starters - are gone. The lone returning player with real meaningful experience is Zach McCloud, who redshirted this past season so he'd have a better chance to play and impress NFL scouts. It hasn't helped that a couple of the former LB recruits who should be fourth year guys this year - De'Andre Wilder and Derrick Smith - are respectively not playing for the Canes due to injury and a transfer.

It also doesn't help that several linebackers missed the four spring practice sessions due to injury: BJ Jennings, Waynmon Steed, Tirek Austin-Cave and Corey Flagg. The players who competed here in March were McCloud, Avery Huff, Waynmon Steed (who is working his way back from two knee surgeries), Patrick Joyner (a converted DE) and Sam Brooks (limited coming off shoulder injury) along with strikers Gil Frierson (converted DB) and Keontra Smith (converted safety).

So yes, this position has major questions.

Will Frierson be able to hold down the Striker spot after he was beaten badly downfield in some pass coverage situations as a backup last season? Who will start alongside McCloud? Can this position be effective?

The bottom line is there are a lot of unanswered issues here when it comes to the third linebacker starter, how the starters will fare and the depth. The team needs either Brooks or Huff to come through, with a freshman or two adding quality depth.

If we had to point to the biggest issues on defense, it's linebacker and cornerback. So we will keep a close eye on this position once the fall rolls around.

A closer player by player look:

TIREK AUSTIN-CAVE, FR

Austin-Cave was originally recruited to play middle linebacker but then said the Canes want to start him out at WLB. Austin-Cave missed spring with a shoulder injury, so we'll see what kind of shape he returns in.

SAM BROOKS, SO

Brooks played in eight games with one start in the bowl game (he had 12 tackles), and we see this mainly as a battle between Brooks and Huff for who starts alongside McCloud. He finished 2019 with 18 tackles, 1.5 for losses, with a sack. He is an athletic defender who has a knack for getting around the ball.

COREY FLAGG, FR

Flagg played MLB in high school and that’s probably his ultimate position at UM. He missed spring with a knee injury and how he looks when he gets on the field will determine what kind of role he'll have. Flagg has the agility to also play outside if needed.

STR GIL FRIERSON, RSO

Frierson is slated as the starter at Striker with Romeo Finley graduating, and he played in every game with one start last season and had 15 tackles with three pass breakups. He was beaten badly a few times in coverage but came on as the season progressed and played better, so there’s every reason to expect him to be solid in his role. An issue is who else will provide depth at the position, though, with only Keontra Smith working here in the spring after moving from safety.

AVERY HUFF, RFR

Huff didn’t see action last season, redshirting, and the former highly touted recruit is battling to start alongside McCloud. He's got the size and speed you want, and he might be the best option physically ... if he can really "get" the defense.

BJ JENNINGS, RJR

Jennings spent last season rehabbing off surgery, and two years ago he played in four games off the bench and had eight tackles. As a freshman in 2017 he played on special teams, so he hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he can do. He was held out this spring with a hip injury, and as of now we're not expecting much from him other than depth help.

PATRICK JOYNER, RSO

Joyner played in the game against Louisville last year but missed most of the season rehabbing a leg injury. His only other experience was as a true freshman in 2018 when he played in four games off the bench and had five tackles, so he has to start showing what he can do in order to get on the field this season.

ZACH MCCLOUD, RSR

It was a smart move to redshirt the veteran McCloud last season, and he has the experience and ability to play either MLB or WLB. Last season he started one game when Mike Pinckney was hurt, playing in four overall. In that start against Pittsburgh he had a strong outing with five tackles, sharing one for a loss, along with a pass breakup. Overall he had nine tackles (six solo). Does McCloud fit best at MLB given his experience? That easily could be the case, and the question is who will start alongside him.

STR/S KEONTRA SMITH, SO

It’s a shame that coaches weren’t able to redshirt Smith - he played safety and some Striker in practices last year and wound up playing a bit role in seven games, mostly competing on special teams. Overall he had two tackles, and this spring he worked behind Gil Frierson at Striker. It looks like he'll stick there and should get some action since there were no other scholarship players at the position this spring besides those two.

WAYNMON STEED, RJR

Steed underwent a second knee surgery that cost him last season, and his only action so far was as a redshirt freshman when he played in five games and had three tackles. When healthy he’s a physical hard-hitting linebacker, but it’s hard to say at this point if he’ll get back to a high level of play.

The bottom line here?

McCloud, Brooks and Huff have the potential to be good enough as a tandem, and Frierson also has potential at Striker.

But "potential" is a loaded word.

The truth is that McCloud likely isn't a Day 1 and maybe not even a Day 2 NFL guy, and the others on the roster are inexerienced. So there's not a ton of proven talent or depth, and that's worrisome.

Can a freshman like Austin-Cave or Flagg show they’re ready? Both missed spring, so a lo will hinge on how they look when the team comes back. Then there’s BJ Jennings (missed spring with injury), Patrick Joyner (who has gone back and forth between end and LB) and Waynmon Steed (off two surgeries). There's no real depth at Striker, with Smith trying to fill the void after moving from safety.

So until the games start being played it's tough to be comfortable with this spot.

An interesting note : When no Cane linebacker went in the 2013 NFL Draft, it broke a streak of seven straight years in which a UM LB was taken by a pro team. Since then two linebackers have gone: Denzel Perryman in the second round in 2015 and Shaq Quarterman in the fourth round this year.