2025 Rankings – LB Breakdown

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> It’s the month of June and we’re inching closer to the start of the 2022 football season. This month, we’re updating and upgrading our prospect rankings across the site. This week, it’s all about the 2025 class as the breakout freshmen from last season now become sophomores this fall. In case you missed our complete ranking update, you can check out the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/oklahoma/rankings/2025-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>2025 Top 50 Right Here!</strong></a> Throughout the week, we’ll take a look at different position groups, as well as some of the other standouts inside and just outside of this recent ranking update. Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma throughout the month of June for more ranking updates, along with a ton of prospect breakdowns. In this post, we take a look at five linebackers who have stood out early on, including two that are currently in the top ten for overall prospects. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="294262" first="Alex" last="Shieldnight"] - Wagoner</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>(Ranked #9 Overall - #1 LB)</strong></span> When I watched Wagoner linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="294262" first="Alex" last="Shieldnight"] at a recent team camp in Verdigris, I came away incredibly impressed with his combination of size, speed and overall skillset. Then I asked Wagoner head coach Dale Condict about him and he responded with "You’re asking about the right one." That’s good enough for me. Shieldnight had a strong freshman year but didn’t do anything that really jumped off the page when we watched Wagoner last fall. But that was not the case this spring. Offenses needed to know where Shieldnight was at all times and it was impressive to watch. And if a coach like Condict, who has seen plenty of talent come through this Wagoner program has bought in on the talent and potential of Shieldnight, who are we to disagree? <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="211549" first="DJ" last="Strother"] - Beggs</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>(Ranked #10 Overall - #2 LB)</strong></span> The difference between Shieldnight at Wagoner and Beggs linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="211549" first="DJ" last="Strother"] for the top two spots at linebacker is very minor. You can’t go wrong with either. When it comes to Strother, this is a very violent linebacker who can cover the field incredibly well. He appears to be a perfect middle linebacker as he just knows where to be almost at all times. It doesn’t matter if the opponent is throwing the ball or running it, Strother rarely gets caught making the wrong decision and knows how to cover ground in a hurry. And then when Strother gets to the ball carrier, he always brings the heat and is one of the hardest hitters in this 2025 class. Get ready for Beggs to be at the top of Class 2A for several years because they are loaded in the younger classes. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="215030" first="Cooper" last="Auschwitz"] - Rejoice Christian</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>(Ranked #23 Overall - #3 LB)</strong></span> Rejoice Christian had a several young prospects not only get playing time but they were absolute stars for the Eagles on both sides of the ball. Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="215030" first="Cooper" last="Auschwitz"] is one of those prospects that we’re already excited about within this 2025 class. Auschwitz had a very productive freshman year with plenty of tackles for loss and sacks and even came up with a few interceptions. It’s pretty safe to say Auschwitz enjoyed a breakout year as a freshman but opponents will be ready for him this fall. We’re looking forward to seeing how he grows from an unknown freshman, to one of the better linebackers within the state’s 2025 class. We’re on the record that Rejoice Christian is going to be one of the better teams in 2A. Not only this year, but over the next few seasons. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="211564" first="Austin" last="Melson"] - Bethel</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>(Ranked #26 Overall - #4 LB)</strong></span> Just like with Rejoice Christian, Bethel had a few freshmen not only crack the starting lineup last season but they had big impacts on the field. For Bethel, there was no denying linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="211564" first="Austin" last="Melson"] with a spot on this breakdown. He was one of the top tacklers for Bethel last season and the Bethel coaches are incredibly high on his potential not only as a linebacker but as a leader. That’s what you typically see from linebackers, especially as they become more experienced within a defense. They become more vocal and become somewhat extensions of the coaching staff. We’ll wait and see this fall on whether or not Melson is ready for that role. But one thing is for sure, we know that Melson will once again be one of the leading tacklers, not only for Bethel, but in Class 2A this fall. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="353417" first="Jayen" last="Monsi"] - Mustang</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>(Ranked #27 Overall - #5 LB)</strong></span> And for our final 2025 linebacker prospect, we go from several small school standouts to the largest class with Mustang linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="353417" first="Jayen" last="Monsi"]. This last prospect is one that we definitely have our eyes on going into the summer months with fall right around the corner. We first got a chance to see Monsi during our Friday Film Review series and then again at our camp in late April. Monsi was one of the top linebackers in attendance and it was apparent that he was ready to have a breakout season this fall. Then after getting some information from the Mustang coaches, they’re on the same page that they expect Monsi to be a big part of what they do on defense this fall. We’re buying stock early on this defensive prospect from Mustang and look forward to seeing what he does this fall.