Depth has improved at the linebacker spot, but work remains to be done.

The unit looks to have an unabashed star in senior Markus Bailey, a team leader who is in line for preseason honors after he contemplated turning pro. After Bailey, Purdue has a collection of “solid” players, but the unit was ravaged by injury in the spring.

Holt has two pet projects in redshirt freshmen Elijah Ball and Jack Cravaack. Ball (6-1, 210) is a safety by trade, while Cravaack (6-5, 245) is a defensive end. Each also is being groomed to be a linebacker. Ball will be utilized when teams spread the field with multiple wideouts. He can work in space, cover and hit. Cravaack will be utilized when offenses are in two-back sets and wanna get physical in the run game. Ball excelled in the spring, while Cravaack showed potential.

Here is how we would stack the linebacker depth chart coming out of spring practice.