Big Board – Linebackers

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> It’s officially April and with the NFL Draft later this month, mock drafts and Big Boards are all you’ll hear about if you’re a football fan. We’re leaning into that with Big Boards. Every Thursday and Friday, we’ll release a new Big Board, ranking the top ten players at their position, regardless of class. Now, similar to our prospect rankings, these rankings are based on who these players are as college prospects. Stay tuned each week for two more Big Boards, rankings and looking at the absolute best players at their respective positions. Today, we continue our Big Board series with a look at the best linebackers in Oklahoma. <strong>1) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38676" first="Gabe" last="Brown"] <strong>- Stillwater - Class of 2022</strong> This pick should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched Stillwater’s defense over the last 2 seasons. [player_tooltip player_id="38676" first="Gabe" last="Brown"] is not only the top LB in the state but also one of the top overall defenders. He has great size for the position and has the strength, athleticism, and instincts to make an impact on all 3 downs both in the box against the run and in pass coverage. Brown already holds a plethora of D1 offers, so it is just a matter of time before he narrows down his college decision. <strong>2) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="114810" first="Eli" last="McWilliams"] <strong>- Tahlequah - Class of 2022</strong> After watching Eli’s Junior season tape the overwhelming theme I caught on to was that this kid plays with his hair on fire at all times and he never gives up on a play. I lost count of how many plays I saw where he would be in the backfield on one side of the field before turning on the jets and making the tackle 5-10 yards upfield on the opposite side. Eli has true sideline to sideline speed to go along with his excellent instincts as a run defender that allows him to make just about any tackle from any spot on the field. Athletically speaking, there are not a lot of LBs in the state that can do what Eli can. <strong>3) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61131" first="Duncan" last="Parham"] <strong>- Norman North - Class of 2022</strong> We liked Duncan enough to put him in our top 30 after the 2020 season but after seeing him on the 7v7 circuit multiple tiimes this off-season I think that ranking could be too low for him come August. Parham has some of the best size of any LB in the state at 6’4" 225 Lbs and is also one of the best athletes of this bunch. He had a great season as an OLB/DE in 2020, however, he has become more and more comfortable in pass drops as the 7v7 season has gone on, which could tak ehis game to the next level if he can translate that onto the field this fall. Outside of 1 or 2 guys on this list, Duncan has some of the best potential with his raw athleticism and size. <strong>4) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61124" first="Xavin" last="Lackey"] <strong>- Vian - Class of 2022</strong> In terms of hard-hitting LBs, you are not likely to find a guy in the state that brings the boom quite like [player_tooltip player_id="61124" first="Xavin" last="Lackey"]. It seems on nearly every play of his Junior tape Xavin was absolutely demolishing ball carriers at or behind the line of scrimmage, regardless of where he was lined up as Vian moves him around in a variety of packages. Sometimes he’ll play inside, and sometimes he’ll slide outside to blitz off the edge or to simply seal it. What is most impressive about his run defense though is how quickly he can create the momentum he does from both a power and speed standpoint before smashing ball carriers in the mouth. Lackey is the type of LB that keeps offensive coordinators awake at night because of the frequency in which he gets ball carriers to fumble after hitting them. <strong>5) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38690" first="Chase" last="Faber"] <strong>- McAlester - Class of 2022</strong> After seemingly coming out of nowhere in 2020, McAlester will be a trendy pick in 5A for 2021 and a lot of that is thanks to what [player_tooltip player_id="38690" first="Chase" last="Faber"] has done for their defense. Faber is built and plays like a more traditional LB for the most part as compared to some of the hybrid box defenders that would have most likely been strictly safeties 10 years ago. Chase is stout as hell and he hits like a freight train no matter where the play is being made. However, Faber is not just a one-trick pony. His main strength is definitely his physicality in the run game, but he has been consistently improving as a defender in pass coverage since the beginning of the offseason. Look for him to elevate his game to another level in 2021. <strong>6) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="47299" first="Buddy" last="Mack"] <strong>- Broken Arrow - Class of 2022</strong> Along with Del City, Owasso, and a few others, Broken Arrow had one of the best LB cores in 2020 with Mack patrolling the second level with [player_tooltip player_id="38511" first="Darryan" last="Moss"] and a few others. Mack transitoned from the middle to the outside in 2020 and left us very pleased. He flashed more speed than we probably gave him credit for on outside runs where he ran down some of the best backs in the state and made them look silly at times. Mack has a chance to step up as one of the leaders of BA’s defense in 2021 with the graduation of [player_tooltip player_id="38511" first="Darryan" last="Moss"] and others, it’ll be fun to see how he embraces his new role. <strong>7) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61130" first="Jayson" last="Smith"] <strong>- Del City - Class of 2022</strong> If you were thinking that there would not be much talk of Del City LBs on here now that [player_tooltip player_id="38498" first="Rejhan" last="Tatum"] and [player_tooltip player_id="38497" first="Donovan" last="Stephens"] are gone, think again. Del City has produced some elite defenders over the past few years and Smith seems to be the next man up in terms of LBs. However, he is a much different player than Tatum and Stephens. Where Tatum and Stephens shined was on the outside and in space thanks to their instincts and speed on the perimeter. Smith is bigger than Stephens and about the same size as Tatum and thrives more in the run game and as a blitzer where he can come downhill and lay a big hit in a hurry. Watch for Del City to have a top tier defense once again in 2021 with Smith leading the LB pack. <strong>8) </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101403" first="Jake" last="Clifton"] <strong>- Owasso - Class of 2022</strong> Coming into 2020, we already knew of Owasso’s studs at LB including [player_tooltip player_id="38516" first="Emaud" last="Triplett"] and [player_tooltip player_id="45655" first="Brenden" last="Dye"], but the surprise player of the year at the position for the Rams was certainly [player_tooltip player_id="101403" first="Jake" last="Clifton"]. Clifton played on the outside for Owasso for the majority of the season and was constantly making big plays whether it was against the run or in pass coverage. His best traits as of now are probably his quickness, instincts, and his aggressiveness that allow him to fire out to the edge quickly and disrupt the play before it can get started. <strong>9) </strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="101413" first="Chance" last="Clements"] </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">- Stillwater - Class of 2022</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="101413" first="Chance" last="Clements"] was an interesting evaluation after the 2020 season finished. We weren’t completely sure what position to list him at because he played everything from box safety, outside linebacker, and even slot corner at times. Eventually, we settled on LB because of his aggressive playstyle when coming downhill and his sheer size at 6’2" 215. He was not a huge producer in the stat sheets in 2020, what stood out most to us was his versatility and ability to play effectively in space. However, we’re confident that he will be one of the focal points of his defense in 2021. <strong>10)</strong> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="61132" first="Mikey" last="Devereaux"] </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">- El Reno - Class of 2022</strong> Rounding out our top 10, we have [player_tooltip player_id="61132" first="Mikey" last="Devereaux"]. Devereaux patrolled the second level with [player_tooltip player_id="38571" first="Darius" last="Moore"] last season and was a tackle machine at times in the run game. He does not have the size or speed as a lot of other LBs on this list but he is a very instinctive player who usually finds himself in the right place at the right time to make a play on the ball. Similar to Smith and Mack, Mikey will go from being one of the guys at LB in 2020 to most likely being <em>the</em> guy at the position for El Reno in 2021.