Productive, Senior Linebackers Are Up For Grabs

Chris Smith July 18, 2021 @ 12:30 PM

As we inch closer to the start of the 2021 football season, what you see across the state in recruiting is that we have several high quality prospects available and ready to hear from college coaches. One position that currently sits with a lot of talented prospects is the linebackers. The guys who chase down the ball and hit you with violence are key cogs to anybody's defense. Linebackers who show range and can drop in coverage are hard to find but I believe we have a few guys here to look at that fit the bill. Good thing the crop of 2021 in-state linebackers has some depth because the Top Five guys in the Prep RedZone Tennessee Top 200, have already committed and taken themselves off the board. Those five are: Keaten Wade Keaten Wade 6'4" | 215 lbs | LB Summit | 2022 State TN - Summit (Kentucky), Langston Patterson Langston Patterson 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Christ Presbyterian Academy | 2022 State TN - CPA (Vanderbilt), Elijah Herring Elijah Herring 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Riverdale | 2022 State TN - Riverdale (Tennessee), Antwain Barham Antwain Barham 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB Milan | 2022 State TN Jr - Milan (Memphis) and Trey McDonald Trey McDonald 6'4" | 210 lbs | LB Baylor School | 2022 State TN from Baylor School, who is currently committed to Virginia. Looking beyond the top five, there are linebackers sitting out there that are talented enough to make their way into D1 football or earn themselves an offer somewhere on the collegiate level. Sitting at the top of the list currently is Haywood (LB) Anthony Brewer Anthony Brewer 6'0" | 205 lbs | LB Haywood | 2022 State TN . Holding multiple FCS offers in hand, Brewer is an athletic and fast defender that has the tenacity and playing speed to earn bigger opportunities. Right behind Brewer are two guys in Major Newman Major Newman 6'3" | 190 lbs | LB Alcoa | 2022 State TN from Alcoa and Ben Bolton Ben Bolton 6'3" | 215 lbs | LB Lausanne Collegiate | 2022 State TN from Lausanne that have had stellar camp seasons which have led to multiple college offers. Newcomer to Tennessee, Caulen Dunn Caulen Dunn 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Collierville | 2022 State TN from Collierville burst onto the scene this summer at the Tennessee St. Roar City Mega Camp, where he added an offer from Tigers and put himself on the map for many others. Brentwood (LB) Seth Carter Seth Carter 6'2" | 205 lbs | LB Brentwood | 2022 State TN , Brentwood Academy (LB) Jalen Jones Jalen Jones 6'1" | 205 lbs | LB Brentwood Academy | 2022 State TN , Riverdale's senior Alex Mitchell Alex Mitchell 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Riverdale | 2022 State TN and DaCorian Jones-Montgomery DaCorian Jones-Montgomery 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Baylor School | 2022 State TN from Baylor are four linebackers who all sport current offers and did nothing but solidify those this summer during camp season.

All four of these senior linebackers performed very well and made it where the upcoming season could be big for not only their high school teams but their recruitments as well. The depth mentioned above comes into play here where we have multiple linebackers that have high college level traits but have flown under the radar for some reason or another. One guy who has started to make some waves is Knox. Catholic (Sr) RaaPhell Mayes RaaPhell Mayes 6'3" | 215 lbs | LB Knoxville Catholic | 2022 State TN . The 6'3 215 pound linebacker has shown this offseason the ability to run and cover as well as having the size to compete in the college game. Three other high quality guys who sit without offers but have the talents to have them already are Cade Apple Cade Apple 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Cookeville | 2022 State TN (Cookeville), Braden Kaiser Braden Kaiser 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB Siegel | 2022 State TN (Siegel) and Pierce Scholato Pierce Scholato 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB White House | 2022 State TN from White House. Apple is an aggressive and feisty middle backer that has had a strong summer camp season. His senior year should be big for his recruiting. It's almost the same exact thing Kaiser. The Stars star backer is a physical specimen that has been in more work than just about anybody this offseason. Scholato is more of an under the radar guy who has the size (6'3 215), smarts and upside that college coaches like. He is certainly on the radar of many across the region. Rounding out the Top 200 are three linebackers from the West Tennessee region that are not only productive but have physical traits that play up in college. Luke Washington Luke Washington 6'1" | 205 lbs | LB St. George's | 2022 TN from St. George's that is a true middle backer with a lunch pail, workmans like mentality that holds an offer currently from Morehead St. and is poised for more this coming season. Jackson North-Side linebacker Khaden Walker Khaden Walker 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Jackson North Side | 2022 State TN is a thick and physical guy that showed in camp late this summer his deceptive athleticism and ability to move. Collierville (Sr) Brayden Hendricks Brayden Hendricks 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Collierville | 2022 State TN is a versatile guy that either fits inside at middle backer or develops into a college defensive end. Every linebacker mentioned in this article has the size, football intelligence and work ethic that every scout and college coach looks for and wants when evaluating high school talent. Some traits could be lacking in a few areas but everybody here is still young and learning the game. They all provide a variety of tools that fit on the next level but remain available for the taking! (All linebackers mentioned are listed by their #PRZTN ranking)