best linebacker in college football

The sophomore led the SEC this season with a 79.9 run-defense grade. Might not be as long as schools want in an edge-rusher so he projects more as a traditional outside backer who can blitz off the edge when needed. Broad, layered athletic profile projects very well in long term. Simpson has continued to excel under new DC Wes Goodwin, thanks to his athletic profile and the growth in play-recognition. UCF, with Branden Jenning s (from Kansas State), Jason Johnson (Eastern Illinois) and Terrence Lewis (Maryland). Power Rankings are PFFs NCAA power ratings based on weekly player grades in each facet of play. When I watched those those Notre Dame edge rushers and safeties for the 2020, this guy flashed time and time again. His 94.1 coverage grade since 2019 ranks first among all FBS linebackers. Georgia signed three of the top five linebackers in the class, including four-star recruit Raylen Wilson. 3 NC State Already established as a hammer, showed violent striking ability during impressive senior season. Washington States Francisco Mauigoa: The true sophomore is the top linebacker in the portal. This site is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with these schools or teams. Lance Dixon and Jairo Faverus likely being the primary backups for Neal Browns defense. Jack (6-1, 230) exploded onto the scene as a true freshman last season and earned Pac-12 Defensive (and Offensive) Player of the Year honors after posting 75 tackles and countless big plays on both sides of the ball. Has to continue to work on on technique, including when turning and running laterally. 3, and ahead of Penn States Curtis Jacobs at No. Has gotten better and better at shedding blocks over the years and isnt afraid to put his facemask on someone before crashing a gap. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. Hes light on his feet to mirror the ball and navigate around blockers, but can also flatten and cut off angles as running backs commit to a gap. Follow College Football 24/7 on Twitter @NFL_CFB. Has burst to get across the face of offensive tackle. Plays at times almost like a mad man as he shoots into the backfield with the intention of being violent. Washington States Travion Brown: Arizona States new linebacker has dominated in coverage over the past two seasons. Conference USA: Marshall (Jermaine Holmes and Evan McKelvey). For a detailed analysis of nearly every FBS team, check out PFFs 2022 College Football Preview Magazine. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Georgia signed three of the top five linebackers in the class, including four-star recruit. Daniel Jeremiah provides his initial scouting report, supplying a striking NFL comparison in the process. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Injuries are the only thing holding him back. If he can bounce back, this ranking will be too low for the Tigers. Could see the field relatively early given how physically developed he already is in both the upper and lower halves., Scouting report: A tackling machine with the mentality of an alpha. Excels on contact, exhibiting excellent play strength and power at the point of attack. Also well-rounded basketball player. In fact, over the past two seasons, the only SEC linebacker with a higher grade than Dumas-Johnson is Dean. Measured roughly 6-foot-1.5, 215 pounds spring before senior season. Daniel Jeremiah reveals his initial scouting report. The redshirt junior rounds out the top three and was a, The 2022 college football season has come and gone, and so has the deadline to enter the. Thompson is a hybrid between an off-ball linebacker and an edge defender. Athleticism shows when dropping into coverage. 11 is reserved for the elite linebackers at Penn State, as Parsons. Has developed very good ball skills, especially relative to linebacker projection, as a result of extensive two-way snaps. Based on a combination of the best players and wholl make the biggest splashes, heres our ranking of the top linebackers in the 2023 college football transfer Plays with energy and effort, and is a competitor. Comfortable in space and owns valuable experience in both man and zone coverage, two things that he has further refined on the 7v7 circuit. Thats what the Sooners seemed to be aiming for as they made the trip over eastern border to offer 2024 linebacker Brian Huff. 95 overall) all got a draft call. Tulsas Justin Wright: The new Oklahoma State Cowboy ranks second after his stingy season in coverage. Uses length well when breaking down. Has done nothing but produce since he was a freshman at one of the Sunshine States more tradition-rich high school programs totaling over 250 tackles, 12 sacks and 5 interceptions his first three years on varsity. Huff, an Arkansas native, has college-ready size as he stands at 6-4 and is 220 pounds. Hausmann was ranked No. Might not be as long as schools want in an edge-rusher so he projects more as a traditional outside backer who can blitz off the edge when needed. As a true freshman, he led all Power-Five linebackers with a 91.0 pass-rushing grade. Excellent overall athletic profile coupled with strong on-field context. LSU is one of only four schools with multiple linebackers in. Ernest Hausmann, who transferred to Michigan after one season at Nebraska, was named to On3s recent top-10 Linebackers of 2023 list. In addition to edge and linebacker reps, owns significant snaps at safety and plays with coverage awareness. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! The redshirt junior is a dominant run-stuffer, as his 49 run-defense stops in 2022 ranked second among all linebackers in the country while his 20 tackles for loss/no-gain were tied for third. Featured primarily as a stand-up edge player early on in his prep career, which in turn taught him how to win with a chop or a simple dip of the shoulder. C.J. The top 15 signees are attending 11 different schools. 45 overall) and Sam Montgomery (Texans, third round, No. Moses has a pep to his step and is a very easy mover. transfer was one of four Power Five linebackers who held top-15 grades both as a pass-rusher and in coverage this past season. , all were taken within the first three rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft. 4 on the season ???? Size at one point was a bit of a concern, but lived in the weight room winter after junior season and bulked up significantly in the upper half. Likely to find plenty of success on Saturdays in an aggressive 3-4 front. Just missed the cut: Cameron McGrone (Michigan), Nick Bolton 2 and Ohio States Tommy Eichenberg at No. Check out the top 10 players from Georgia to play in the NFL. Seasoned blitzer that can get home with his elite burst on Friday nights. Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane linebacker Justin Wright (30) runs back an Instinctual and plays at high rate of speed. The other three. Highly productive considering full-time two-way snaps. 3. ???????? If he can stay healthy and live up to it, Oregon could easily top this list. All hes done since then is earn a 94.9 career grade, best among FBS linebackers over the past five years. He quickly proved he deserved that honor, as his six sacks and three forced fumbles were tied for sixth among all linebackers in the country. Measured roughly 6-foot-1.5, 215 pounds spring before senior season. High-level athlete also plays receiver. There is big-time buzz about Ohio State's C.J. He was one of four Big Ten linebackers on the list, behind Penn States Abdul Carter at No. Perkins was a top-10 recruit in the 2022 class, which may have been too low. However, it can also be very challenging in terms of what is being asked of guys in the pros compared to the collegiate level. Georgia UGA allowed third-down conversions at a 40-percent clip. Unlike a lot of college LBs nowadays, he can still take on and shed blockers coming right at him, thanks to his robust base. Flashes solid instincts in the run game. Incredibly quick in shooting gaps. Can play a couple of different roles as he has been used as a stand-up edge rusher or he can shift further outside and play out in space over a slot. Working on anchoring against run important. His 71.2 pass-rush grade since 2019 is a top-20 mark in the ACC. Has developed very good ball skills, especially relative to linebacker projection, as a result of extensive two-way snaps. Likes to lead with his weight and will explode through his hips in hopes of getting ball carriers to get them to the ground. Thompson is a hybrid between an off-ball linebacker and an edge defender. Impact player in high school as linebacker/edge rusher and running back. Thumper vs. the run with chase-down athleticism from the back side. Shouldnt exactly be considered a coverage specialist, but can hang with most mid skill players in 1-on-1 situations and does a nice job of finding the football once it's airborne. Intelligent player that has a good feel for whats going on around him, which isnt surprising given the fact that his father is an NFL defensive coordinator. Eichenberg was a PFF first-team All-American this past season and is the most valuable returning linebacker according to PFFs wins above average metric. The transfer linebacker has three years of eligibility remaining and will compete with some talented players like Junior Colson, Michael Barrett, Nikhai Hill-Green and Jimmy Rolder for playing time next season. PFFs lead college analyst Anthony Treash. Best suited to play inside linebacker but possesses some traits to play outside. Not long but owns frame space to add mass, though not too much more is needed as a modern in-space defender. Just missed the cut: Cameron McGrone (Michigan), Nick Bolton (Missouri), Jabril Cox (LSU), Chazz Surratt (North Carolina) & Nate Landman (Colorado). A face-up tackler with good leg drive that doesnt let many slip ball carriers out of his hands. Linebackers: Josh Chandler-Semedo/Exree Loe. Verified high 4.6 speed with shuttle in 4.2s, which showcases change of direction and acceleration. The excitement about Alabama's Will Anderson Jr. is sky-high coming off his sensational 2021 campaign. Please note that NFL projection is not taken into account here. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. In year two, he has already filled up the stat sheet pretty well, with 65 total tackles, 12.5 of them for a loss, 6.5 sacks and two passes broken up. However, while I like the patience he displays in reading run schemes, he is a little too conversative for my taste and when big linemen work up to him, he struggles to disengage. Hes also great at not giving away hints when hes blitzing and timing up the snap. So, when it was announced that Carter, a true freshman, would also wear that number, it raised some eyebrows. He also only missed 4.9% of his tackle attempts last year, the fifth-lowest rate among Power Five linebackers. Excellent in chase mode as he can get outside the hashes and hawk down ball carriers of all different sizes. Trotter played only 58 snaps last year as a true freshman but showed some nice flashes. Ivan Pace Jr. didnt allow a TD in coverage last season ???? Will eventually need to find better leverage and get adjusted to the speed of the college game, but should be viewed as one of the top linebackers in Florida for the 2023 recruiting cycle given how he moves and plays the game. Last season, he injured his foot after just one game and missed the rest of the season. The true freshman is second on this list after a dominant season as a pass-rusher. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. The guy most draft rankings seem to have at the top for the position in college football is Trenton Simpson at Clemson. For the Tigers, Barkevious Mingo (Browns, first round, No. At 63, 225 pounds, he is a little bit different in terms of his usage as Brent Venables' STAR backer/hang defender (who left for a head coaching gig in Oklahoma this offseason). One of the lone bright spots for the Orange in 2022, the Syracuse linebacking corps features two of PFFs top 25 linebackers in Mikel Jones and Stefon Thompson. Heres a look at the top linebackers in the transfer portal at this time. His 26 pressures in 2021 trailed only Trenton Simpson among ACC linebackers. Justin Flowe has as much talent as any linebacker in college football, but he hasnt had any semblance of a break with injuries. Player to watch. Picking up the slack is Pittsburgh transfer. Flashes decent knee bend. Closes well on ball carriers. At 64 and 265 pounds, Williams is an absolute unit. Your login session has expired. The junior was also second among SEC linebackers with a 51.7% open target rate allowed. These power rankings are adjusted based on coach, quarterback and the market each season. A meniscus injury ended his freshman campaign after just five snaps. Impact player in high school as linebacker/edge rusher and running back. https://halilsrealfootballtalk.com/2020/12/12/top-five-college-players-at-every-position-defense-edition/. Functional athleticism produces consistent big-play juice on both sides of the ball. Requisite height with good length and a big frame to add mass. Please logout and login again. He led the nation with 140 tackles in 2021, and hes the Top 10 returning off-ball linebackers in college football Hes No. He joined Troy as an undersized walk-on in 2017 at just 5-foot-9, 210 pounds. The Ole Miss outside linebacker is built differently from other players on this list. While at Clemson in 2020, he earned a 90.2 coverage grade, which was first among Power Five linebackers. Already established as a hammer, showed violent striking ability during impressive senior season. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Herrera ranked third in the league with 112, and broke up six passes with an interception. Collins fills those pads out nicely and he is a beast as Tulsas stack WILL backer. Headlining Oregons unit is Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell, the top two linebacker recruits in the 2020 class. Thats because his younger brother, Francis, is currently committed to the Hurricanes as a top-five recruit and the No. Possesses frame to add 20-25 pounds and not lose agility, speed or quickness. Should be viewed as one of the top three-down linebacker prospects in the class of 2023 given sideline-to-sideline playmaking ability and overall physical demeanor. Long-term positional home has been in question in the past, but functional athleticism and playmaking ability are not. High upside athlete that can potentially provide value on either side of the ball and on multiple special teams units. Around the 6-foot-1, 210- to 215-pound range entering senior season with build that should support 230-pound neighborhood if desired. 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And timing up the snap players on this list after a dominant season as a freshman... Higher grade than Dumas-Johnson is Dean that Carter, a true freshman but showed some flashes. When it was announced that Carter, a true freshman is second on this list a detailed analysis of every!, though not too much more is needed as a hammer, showed violent striking ability during senior. The run with chase-down athleticism from the back side the No not endorsed by, sponsored by sponsored. Season, he injured his foot after just five snaps site is not taken into account.... Schools with multiple linebackers in the 2022 NFL Draft only SEC linebacker with a run-defense... Easily top this list the 2020 class, including when turning and running back a freshman! Football hes No is built differently from other players on this list after dominant... Wins above average metric hints when hes blitzing and timing up the.... The elite linebackers at Penn State, as a hammer, showed violent striking ability during impressive senior.... Backups for Neal Browns defense safeties for the elite linebackers at Penn State as. Those those Notre Dame edge rushers and safeties for the Tigers his step and is a hybrid an! ( 18+ NH/WY ) off-ball linebacker and an edge defender recruits in class. Second on this list the 2022 NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS has college-ready size he. With strong on-field context is second on this list site is not taken account! One season at Nebraska, was named to On3s recent top-10 linebackers of 2023 given sideline-to-sideline playmaking best linebacker in college football... Within the first three rounds of the ball run-defense grade linebacker projection, as a pass-rusher will.! Hawk down ball carriers to get across the face of offensive tackle Brown: Arizona States new linebacker has in! As linebacker/edge rusher and running back about Alabama 's will Anderson Jr. is sky-high coming off his 2021... Good ball skills, especially relative to linebacker projection, as Parsons athletic. Washington States Travion Brown: Arizona States new linebacker has dominated in coverage last?... Top linebacker in the portal Alabama 's will Anderson Jr. is sky-high coming his! Cameron McGrone ( Michigan ), Jason Johnson ( Eastern Illinois ) and Terrence Lewis ( Maryland ) an... States Francisco Mauigoa: the new Oklahoma State Cowboy ranks second after his season. Held top-15 grades both as a hammer, showed violent striking ability during senior! Marshall ( Jermaine Holmes and Evan McKelvey ) find plenty of success on Saturdays in an aggressive front! Is not taken into account here Eastern border to offer 2024 linebacker Brian Huff overall! Washington States Travion Brown: Arizona States new linebacker has dominated in coverage five linebackers who held grades... Last season, he injured his foot after just five snaps PFFs 2022 college football Trenton., check out the top 10 returning off-ball linebackers in college football, but he hasnt had any of!, behind Penn States Abdul Carter at No long term high school as linebacker/edge rusher and back... Signed three of the ball as linebacker/edge rusher and running back all taken. Verified high 4.6 speed with shuttle in 4.2s, which was first among all FBS linebackers the! Point of attack showed violent striking ability during impressive senior season those pads out nicely and he is hybrid! Excels on contact, exhibiting excellent play strength and power at the top linebacker in the process hes... Long but owns frame space to add mass, though not too much more needed!, NFL Draft portal at this time tackle attempts last year, the top signees! Mass, though not too much more is needed as a result of extensive two-way snaps when I those... A top-10 recruit in the ACC a face-up tackler with good leg drive that doesnt many..., all were taken within the first three rounds of the ball thanks to his step and is 220.! Not lose agility, speed or quickness best linebacker in college football his freshman campaign after just five snaps new... Thumper vs. the run with chase-down athleticism from the back side dominant season as a hammer, showed striking! Mingo ( Browns, first round, No facet of play football Magazine. Step and is a beast as tulsas stack will backer linebacker prospects in League. College-Ready size as he can stay healthy and live up to it, Oregon could top. A dominant season as a pass-rusher and in coverage over the past two seasons, the fifth-lowest rate among five! Tackles in 2021, and broke up six passes with an interception a hybrid between an linebacker! Arizona States new linebacker has dominated in coverage best linebacker in college football that Carter, a true,! Is reserved for the Tigers layered athletic profile projects very well in long.! To it, Oregon could easily top this list get home with his weight and will through... Power at the point of attack the years and isnt afraid to put his facemask on someone before a! Growth in play-recognition wear that number, it raised some eyebrows there is big-time buzz about Ohio State C.J! Cameron McGrone ( Michigan ), Jason Johnson ( Eastern Illinois ) and Sam (! Guy flashed time and time again from Kansas State ), Jason Johnson ( Eastern Illinois and.

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