Phil Steele Blog • March 21, 2017

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2016 Top 50 True Freshman LB's and their Impact on the season.

Today lets talk about my 2016 Top 50 True Freshman Linebackers and their impact on the season. UCLA has the most players on this list with 5 in my Top 50. Alabama, Michigan and Oregon followed with 3 players each.

Out of the Top 50 true freshman on this list, 29 (58%) contributed in some way this past season. Of the 29 players with stats, only 6 were from my Top 10. The Top 2 players each had over 49 tackles, then you start to see the drop off in production.

The Top 50 True Freshman Linebackers were led by PS#20 Shaq Quarterman (3rd Tm ACC) of Miami, Fl with 84 tackles. In second was David Reese (PS#44) of Florida with 49 tackles. Seven players recorded at least 1 sack. Shaq Quarterman led the group again with 3.5 sacks. Next was PS#18 Carter Coughlin with 2 sacks. No one on this list came away with an interception.

The 2016 Top 50 True Freshman Linebackers totaled 517 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss.

Here is the complete list of my 2016 Top 50 True Freshman Linebackers, followed by my Top 50 True Freshman Linebackers for 2017. I will have my Top 50 True Freshman Defensive Backs on Wednesday.
Top                    
50 RS NAME TEAM TKL SKS TFL PBU INT QBH Other Info
1   Lyndell Wilson Alabama 8 0 0 0 0 1  
2 RS Mique Juarez UCLA 0 0 0 0 0 0  
3 RS Ben Davis Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 0  
4 Caleb Kelly Oklahoma 36 1 2 1 0 2  
5 Keion Joyner Florida St 0 0 0 0 0 0 Did Not Qualify
6 Curtis Robinson Stanford 13 1 0 0 0 0  
7 Terrell Hall Alabama 11 1 0 0 0 0  
8 RS Shaq Smith Clemson 0 0 0 0 0 0  
9 Erick Fowler Texas 1 0 1 0 0 0  
10 Tre Lamar Clemson 22 1 1.5 1 0 0  
11 Michael Divinity LSU 13 0 1 0 0 0  
12 RS Breland Brandt UCLA 0 0 0 0 0 0  
13 Daelin Hayes Notre Dame 11 0 0 1 0 0 Moved to DL
14 Jeffrey McCulloch Texas 23 1 1 0 0 1  
15 Keandre Jones Ohio State 4 0 0 0 0 0  
16 Lokeni Toailoa UCLA 5 0 0.5 0 0 0  
17 RS Chauncey Manac Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0  
18 Carter Coughlin Minnesota 25 2 2 0 0 0  
19 RS Brendan Ferns West Virginia 0 0 0 0 0 0  
20 Shaq Quarterman Miami (FL) 84 3.5 6.5 1 0 8 3rd Tm ACC
21 Krystopher Barnes UCLA 3 0 0 0 0 0  
22 Dontavious Jackson Florida State 20 0.5 2.5 0 0 0  
23 RS Camilo Eifler Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0  
24 Jaquan Yulee Marshall 0 0 0 0 0 0 Did Not Qualify
25 Bryce Youngquist Unsigned 0 0 0 0 0 0  
26 Daniel Bituli Tennessee 9 0 0 0 0 0  
27 Carlo Kemp Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 games, No Stats
28 Devin Bush Michigan 12 0 0.5 0 0 0  
29 Brandon Wellington Washington 7 0 0 0 0 0  
30 Cameron Brown Penn State 33 0.5 1 0 0 0  
31 RS Tuf Borland Ohio State 0 0 0 0 0 0  
32 Lamar Winston Oregon 5 0 0 0 0 0  
33 RS Darrian Franklin Oregon 0 0 0 0 0 0  
34 RS Ray Thornton LSU 0 0 0 0 0 0  
35 Aaron Hansford Texas A&M 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moved to WR, 2 games, No Stats
36 Josh Brown Florida State 2 0 0 0 0 0 Played in 10 games
37 Jaleel Laguins Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 games, No Stats
38 Zach McCloud Miami (FL) 37 0 3.5 2 0 4  
39 RS PJ Blue Louisville 0 0 0 0 0 0  
40 RS Jon-Michael Terry Oklahoma 0 0 0 0 0 0  
41 Koby Quansah Duke 12 0 1 0 0 4  
42 Jeremiah Moon Florida 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 games then inj
43 Tyrel Dodson Texas A&M 27 0 1.5 0 0 0  
44 David Reese Florida 49 0 2 0 0 0  
45 Elysee Mbem-Bosse Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Games, No Stats
46 Keith Simms Oregon 10 0 0 0 0 0  
47 Marvin Terry Unsigned 0 0 0 0 0 0  
48 RS Joel Dublanko Cincinnati 0 0 0 0 0 0  
49 Kash Daniel Kentucky 19 0 0 0 0 0  
50   Calvin Bundage Oklahoma St 13 0 1 0 0 0  
Totals 517 11.5 28.5 6 0 20

Here are the Top 50 Rated freshman Linebackers for 2017.

2017    
Top 50 Player Team
1 Dylan Moses Alabama
2 Baron Browning Ohio State
3 Anthony Hines Texas A&M
4 VanDarius Cowan Alabama
5 Nate McBride Georgia
6 Robert Beal (RJ) Georgia
7 Markail Benton Alabama
8 Drew Singleton Michigan
9 Justin Foster Clemson
10 Levi Draper Oklahoma
11 Chris Allen Alabama
12 Bruce Jordan-Swilling Georgia Tech
13 Jaden Hunter Georgia
14 Jordan Anthony Michigan
15 Levi Jones USC
16 Willie Gay (Chip) Mississippi St
17 David Adams Notre Dame
18 Will Ignont Tennessee
19 Josh Ross Michigan
20 Hunter Echols USC
21 Avery Roberts Nebraska
22 Tyshon Fogg Rutgers
23 Jacob Phillips LSU
24 TD Moultry (Tadarian) Auburn
25 Joshua Paschal Kentucky
26 Addison Gumbs Oklahoma
27 Leonard Warner Florida State
28 Santino Marchiol Texas A&M
29 Breon Dixon Mississippi
30 Patrick Queen (PQ) LSU
31 De'Andre Wilder Miami (FL)
32 Pete Werner Ohio State
33 Antjuan Simmons Michigan State
34 Walter Grant Georgia
35 Isaac Slade-Matautia Oregon
36 Dylan Rivers Virginia Tech
37 Tyler Taylor LSU
38 Chandler Wooten Auburn
39 Brelin Faison-Walden Penn State
40 Ellis Brooks Penn State
41 Logan Rudolph Clemson
42 Tyler Dunning Mississippi St
43 Kendric Haynes South Alabama
44 RJ Potts (Roosevelt) Cincinnati
45 Sampson Niu Oregon
46 Jaquan Henderson Georgia Tech
47 Ayinde Eley Maryland
48 Thomas Johnston UAB
49 Josh Clarke Mississippi
50 Monty Rice Georgia