Whaley and Santos man the attack in David's absence.
David was completely overlooked from the famed 2007 Miami (Fla.) Northwestern powerhouse state championship team as a recruit. After becoming one of the top junior college linebacker prospects in the nation, David earned Big Ten Linebacker of the Year honors in 2011. He totaled 285 tackles, 24.5 tackles for a loss and 11.5 sacks in only two seasons, making him the No. 4 all-time leading tackler in the distinguished linebacker history of Big Red football.
Filling the weakside void left by the best linebacker in the conference will be virtually impossible. The good news for head coach Bo Pelini is Will Compton returns to the middle of the defense and should develop into more of leader this fall. However, it appears lightly-used senior Alonzo Whaley - 12 career tackles - and redshirt freshman David Santos will get the first crack at trying to replace the astounding level of David's production. Filling the void left by Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Alfonzo Dennard won't be easy either, but David was the unquestioned heartbeat of the Huskers' defense for the last two seasons.
