Phil Steele Blog • March 10, 2016

 

2015 Top 50 True Freshman LB's and their Impact on the Season.

Today lets talk about my 2015 Top 50 Freshman Linebackers and their impact on the season. Texas has the most on this list with 5 in my Top 50. While Alabama, Georgia and USC followed with 4 players each. USC dominated with three players from the Top 10. Two of which had 25 tackles each, Osa Masina (PS#6) and Porter Gustin (PS#7). The linebacker position on the majority of the teams is where you will find their #1 tackler.

Out of the Top 50 freshman on this list 24 (48%) contributed in some way this past season. Of the 24 players with stats only 6 were from my Top 10. The Top 3 players each had over 60 tackles then you start to see the drop off in production.

The Top 50 linebackers were  led by USC’s Cameron Smith (PS#27) with 78 tackles. Coming in 2nd was Darrin Kirkland (PS#19) from Tennessee with 66 and rounding off the Top 3 is Malik Jefferson (PS#1) from Texas with 61 tackles.

Eight players recorded at least 1 sack and of those eight, three were from my Top 10. Notable players here were Porter Gustin of USC led with 5.5, Darrin Kirkland (3) and Malik Jefferson with 2.5.

Only two players came away with an interception on this list. Cameron Smith on top again with 3 followed by Darin Kirkland (1) both players Top 3 in tackles.

Here is the complete list of my 2015 Top 50 Freshman Linebackers. Followed by my Top 50 Freshman Linebackers for 2016. Friday I will have my Top 50 Freshman Defensive Backs.

Top                    
50 RS NAME TEAM TKL SKS TFL PBU INT QBH Other Info
1     Malik  Jefferson Texas 61 2.5 4.5 3 0 6  
2 RS   Justin  Hilliard Ohio St 0 0 0 0 0 0  
3 RS   Keisean  Lucier-South Ucla 0 0 0 0 0 0  
4 RS   John  Houston Usc 0 0 0 0 0 0  
5   Roquan  Smith Georgia 20 0 1.5 0 0 0  
6   Osa Masina USC 25 0 1.5 0 0 1  
7   Porter  Gustin USC 25 5.5 1.5 0 0 1  
8 RS   Leo  Lewis Mississippi St 0 0 0 0 0 0  
9   Jeff  Holland Auburn 13 1 1.5 0 0 2  
10   Jerome  Baker Ohio St 3 0 0 0 0 0  
11   Anthony  Wheeler Texas 36 0 1 1 0 0  
12   Natrez  Patrick Georgia 22 1 1.5 0 0 1  
13 RS   Mekhi  Brown Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 0  
14 RS   Jahvoni  Simmons Virginia 0 0 0 0 0 0  
15 RS   Adonis  Thomas Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 0  
16 RS   Asmar  Bilal Notre Dame 0 0 0 0 0 0  
17 RS   Josh  Barajas Notre Dame 0 0 0 0 0 0  
18   D'Andre  Walker Georgia 9 0.5 0 0 0 2  
19   Darrin  Kirkland Tennessee 66 3 3.5 1 1 5  
20 RS   Nick  Conner Ohio St 0 0 0 0 0 0  
21 RS   Richard  Mcbryde Auburn 0 0 0 0 0 0  
22   Darrell  Williams Auburn 0 0 0 0 0 0  
23 RS   Sherrod  Pittman South Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 0  
24   Josh  Smith Vanderbilt 7 0 0.5 0 0 0  
25 RS   Joshua  Mcmillon Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 0  
26   Cameron  Townsend Texas 1 0 0 0 0 0  
27   Cameron  Smith Usc 78 1 0 3 3 0  
28   Ben  Humphreys Duke 31 1 1 0 0 5  
29 RS   Eli  Brown Kentucky 0 0 0 0 0 0  
30 RS   Chad  Smith Clemson 0 0 0 0 0 0  
31   Te'Von  Coney Notre Dame 13 0 0.5 0 0 0  
32   Quart'E  Sapp Tennessee 3 0 0 0 0 0  
33   Arrington  Farrar Wisconsin 6 0 0 0 0 1  
34   Sh'Mar  Kilby-Lane Florida St 4 0 0 0 0 0  
35 RS   Kyahva  Tezino San Diego St 0 0 0 0 0 0  
36   Manny  Bowen Penn St 18 0 0.5 0 0 0  
37 RS   Anfernee  Jennings Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 0  
38   Christian  Folau Oregon St 0 0 0 0 0 0 Went on Mission
39   Cecil  Cherry Texas 0 0 0 0 0 0 Transferred to USF
40   Andrew  Dowell Michigan St 22 0 1 0 0 0  
41   Deandre  Mcneal Texas 1 0 0 0 0 0  
42 RS   Johnathon  Sutton North Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 0  
43   Gary  Mccrae Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 To JC/signed with Louisville in '16
44 RS   Khaylan  Thomas Arizona St 0 0 0 0 0 0  
45 RS   Anthony  Mckee Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0  
46   Charles  Perry Miami, Fl 2 0 0 0 0 0  
47 RS   Tim  Washington Mississippi St 0 0 0 0 0 0  
48 RS   Dj  Beavers Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0  
49   Richard  Moore Texas A&M 39 1 6.5 1 0 1  
50     Cj  Stalker Virginia 2 0 0 0 0 0  

Here is my 2016 Top 50 Freshman Linebackers. UCLA has the most players in the Top 50 with 4 followed by Alabama, Florida St, Michigan and Oregon each with 3.

Top    
50 Player Team
1 Lyndell Wilson (Mack) Alabama
2 Mique Juarez UCLA
3 Ben Davis Alabama
4 Caleb Kelly Oklahoma
5 Keion Joyner Florida State
6 Curtis Robinson Stanford
7 Terrell Hall Alabama
8 Shaq Smith (Rahshaun) Clemson
9 Erick Fowler Texas
10 Tre Lamar (George) Clemson
11 Michael Divinity LSU
12 Breland Brandt UCLA
13 Daelin Hayes Notre Dame
14 Jeffrey McCulloch Texas
15 Keandre Jones Ohio State
16 Lokeni Toailoa UCLA
17 Chauncey Manac Georgia
18 Carter Coughlin Minnesota
19 Brendan Ferns West Virginia
20 Shaq Quarterman (Shaquille) Miami (FL)
21 Krystopher Barnes (Krys) UCLA
22 Dontavious Jackson Florida State
23 Camilo Eifler Washington
24 Jaquan Yulee Marshall
25 Bryce Youngquist Unsigned
26 Daniel Bituli Tennessee
27 Carlo Kemp Michigan
28 Devin Bush Michigan
29 Brandon Wellington Washington
30 Cameron Brown Penn State
31 Tuf Borland Ohio State
32 Lamar Winston Oregon
33 Darrian Franklin Oregon
34 Rahssan Thornton LSU
35 Aaron Hansford Texas A&M
36 Josh Brown Florida State
37 Jaleel Laguins Georgia
38 Zach McCloud Miami (FL)
39 PJ Blue Louisville
40 Jon-Michael Terry Oklahoma
41 Koby Quansah Duke
42 Jeremiah Moon Florida
43 Tyrel Dodson Texas A&M
44 David Reese Florida
45 Elysee Mbem-Bosse Michigan
46 Keith Simms Oregon
47 Marvin Terry Unsigned
48 Joel Dublanko Unsigned
49 Kash Daniel Kentucky
50 Calvin Bundage Oklahoma State