Part II—Linebackers. After reviewing our linebacker recruiting since 2014, we appear to have had somewhat better luck getting 4*s in the last couple years and I would have to agree, to a certain extent, there's some merit in the thought that we haven't developed them as well as we may have at other positions... but it's close and there's reason to conclude the opposite as well.
When you look through the recruiting over the last 7 years, our best in terms of ratings came in more recent recruiting cycles. There are 3 five star recruits with one of them likely going in the 1st round of this year’s NFL draft. Prior to that, we really haven’t gotten high end recruits, imo. In fact, a guy not listed was a key contributor in ’19, Jan Johnson- he was a walk-on. I guess it can be argued that we aren’t recruiting well and that’s a valid argument but look again at the rankings given to our linebacker recruits- again, not a lot of 4 and 5 stars, especially before 2018.
Linebackers
2020
Tyler Elsdon (high 3*, 4* on some sites- too soon to judge)
Zuriah Fisher (another 3*, too soon to judge)
Curtis Jacobs (4*, looked good in limited action- likely will start in ’21)
2019
Lance Dixon (5*, rs soph- too soon to judge but tackling has been an issue)
Brandon Smith (5*, steadily improved in ’20, expectation is that he’ll meet his 5* status)
2018
Charlie Katshir (3*, can’t beat the injury bug- can still contribute, we’ll see)
Jesse Luketa (4*, let’s see what he can do at mike- inconsistent but looks good at times)
Micah Parsons (5*, will be drafted in the first round- learned LB in college, must have done something right)
2017
Ellis Brooks (4*, steady contributor)
Brelin Faison-Walden (3*, never developed)
Brailon Franklin (3*, also never developed)
*admittedly, we reached for the last two- wasn’t all that surprising when they left after other, younger, guys passed them by.
2016
Cam Brown (4*, forced to play early due to injuries, now in the NFL)
2015
Manny Bowen (4*, knucklehead)
Jake Cooper (3*, mostly injured- could have used a rs)
Daquain Kelly (4*, overrated and a knucklehead- never made it to his 1st preseason camp)
2014
Jason Cabinda (3*, now in the NFL)
Koa Farmer (4* athlete- not necessarily LB material but got better through his career)
Troy Reeder (4*, but transferred to Delaware to play with his brother- can’t credit or blame anything with him on our coaching)
Once again, not seeing too many potential superstars out of the ’14 through ’17 classes. In fact, I was kind of surprised that we have recruited so few linebackers overall. If nothing else, I think we need to continue our upward trend with higher rated prospects and then, in a bit more time, come back and evaluate whether our coaches (especially Pry) developed them well (or not so well).
When you look through the recruiting over the last 7 years, our best in terms of ratings came in more recent recruiting cycles. There are 3 five star recruits with one of them likely going in the 1st round of this year’s NFL draft. Prior to that, we really haven’t gotten high end recruits, imo. In fact, a guy not listed was a key contributor in ’19, Jan Johnson- he was a walk-on. I guess it can be argued that we aren’t recruiting well and that’s a valid argument but look again at the rankings given to our linebacker recruits- again, not a lot of 4 and 5 stars, especially before 2018.
Linebackers
2020
Tyler Elsdon (high 3*, 4* on some sites- too soon to judge)
Zuriah Fisher (another 3*, too soon to judge)
Curtis Jacobs (4*, looked good in limited action- likely will start in ’21)
2019
Lance Dixon (5*, rs soph- too soon to judge but tackling has been an issue)
Brandon Smith (5*, steadily improved in ’20, expectation is that he’ll meet his 5* status)
2018
Charlie Katshir (3*, can’t beat the injury bug- can still contribute, we’ll see)
Jesse Luketa (4*, let’s see what he can do at mike- inconsistent but looks good at times)
Micah Parsons (5*, will be drafted in the first round- learned LB in college, must have done something right)
2017
Ellis Brooks (4*, steady contributor)
Brelin Faison-Walden (3*, never developed)
Brailon Franklin (3*, also never developed)
*admittedly, we reached for the last two- wasn’t all that surprising when they left after other, younger, guys passed them by.
2016
Cam Brown (4*, forced to play early due to injuries, now in the NFL)
2015
Manny Bowen (4*, knucklehead)
Jake Cooper (3*, mostly injured- could have used a rs)
Daquain Kelly (4*, overrated and a knucklehead- never made it to his 1st preseason camp)
2014
Jason Cabinda (3*, now in the NFL)
Koa Farmer (4* athlete- not necessarily LB material but got better through his career)
Troy Reeder (4*, but transferred to Delaware to play with his brother- can’t credit or blame anything with him on our coaching)
Once again, not seeing too many potential superstars out of the ’14 through ’17 classes. In fact, I was kind of surprised that we have recruited so few linebackers overall. If nothing else, I think we need to continue our upward trend with higher rated prospects and then, in a bit more time, come back and evaluate whether our coaches (especially Pry) developed them well (or not so well).
