Ranking the Big Ten: Inside Linebacker

As the 2019 season draws nearer by the day, it’s time to start taking a look at some of the top players to watch in the Big Ten Conference.

We continue our annual Ranking the Big Ten series today with the inside linebackers, a loaded group that will quarterback some of the league's best defenses in 2019.

Related: QB | RB | WR | TE | C | G | T | DE | DT

Few defensive players in the Big Ten have been more productive over the past two seasons than Fisher.

A Freshman All-American and second-team all-conference selection in 2017, Fisher posted his second straight 100-tackle season (116) and tied for the Big Ten lead with four forced fumbles last year as a true sophomore.

The 6-foot-4, 241-pound native of Katy, Texas, earned first-team all-league honors (coaches) for his efforts, and his 227 total tackles over the past two seasons are the most of any Big Ten player.

Fisher is the clear leader of the defense and will again be one of the faces of the program. Should his impressive production continue in 2019, he could potentially forego his senior year for an early jump to the NFL.

Michigan State's defensive front seven is as good as there is in the Big Ten, and Bachie is the one who makes it all click.

Entering his third season as the Spartans' starting middle linebacker, Bachie's 214 career tackles are the most of any returning MSU defender. He's also racked up 19.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions, seven pass breakups, five forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries while making 26 consecutive starts.

The senior from Brook Park, Ohio, was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection after posting a team-high 102 total tackles in 2018. Now he's already been tabbed a Preseason All-American by ESPN going into his final season in East Lansing.

When you look at Nebraska's linebacking corps entering fall camp, it's eye-opening how many snaps Barry played in 2018 compared to the rest of the group.

Barry was on the field for a whopping 786 defensive snaps last season as a junior, while the other seven returning linebackers that saw action combined for 861.

The Grayson, Ga., native was also as productive as any NU defender, leading the team with 112 total stops to become the first Husker with a 100-tackle campaign since 2014.

Barry was named Nebraska's Defensive MVP and a third-team All-Big Ten selection by the league's media for his efforts, and now he enters his senior season tabbed as a second-team preseason all-conference pick by Athlon.

Other players at his position might have gotten more postseason recognition, but few finished with the type of production as Gallagher.

The Raynham, Mass., native led the Big Ten with 127 tackles as a true sophomore in 2018, including six games with 10 or more stops, the second-most in the conference.

Gallagher was named third-team All-Big Ten by the league's media and honorable mention by the coaches, and Athlon had him as a preseason third-team all-league selection going into his junior campaign.

Barber has been a mainstay in the middle of Minnesota's defense the past two seasons, starting 25 straight games and tallying a team-high 202 tackles over that stretch.

After earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from the league's media as a redshirt sophomore in 2017, Barber came back with an 87-tackle junior year and was named the Golden Gophers' Outstanding Team Player.

He'll be looking to add to that resume in his final season in 2019, and he was pegged as a preseason fourth-team all-conference pick by Athlon.