Five 2023 Outside Linebackers to Watch

<span style="font-size: 10pt;">As I continue my evaluations of the incoming senior class, I have been focusing on five players at each position that I believe should be on college football radars. I am getting close to wrapping up this series as I have now been focusing on the defensive side of the ball. After looking at the inside linebackers last week, I will now focus on their running mates in the middle of the defense. With that being said, here are five class of 2023 outside linebackers in the state of Kentucky that have caught my attention.</span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145764" first="Carson" last="Wright"]</strong>| 6’0", 215 lbs.| Pikeville High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/8463191/623ceb58b5360b0884428db6">Junior Year Film</a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Wright has been a key part of Pikeville’s defense for the past few seasons, helping lead them to two 1A State Championship wins so far. He shows a great football IQ by reading his keys and reacting to flow to the ball without hesitation. On his way to the football, he does a great job of using his hands to engage and shed blocks effectively. Once he gets to the ball carrier, he is an excellent open field tackler. Wright does an outstanding job of exploding through contact and running his feet, not allowing much opportunity for extra yards.He also plays some offense as he has gotten plenty of carries out of the backfield throughout his career. While he doesn’t currently hold any official offers, I fully expect them to come for Wright soon as he has been receiving some college interest.</span> <strong>Devin Greer| </strong>6’3", 195 lbs.|  Bowling Green High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14353105/619685c60c53590a7c1aef32">Junior Year Film</a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Greer is a player that looks to be on the rise coming into his senior season. He had a solid junior year, finishing with 65 tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. Greer stood out to me with his excellent coverage skills. He is very fluid in his drops and showed the ability to break on the ball and make plays. Greer is also a very good open field tackler. Once he sees where the ball is going, he comes downhill with a sense of urgency, gets to the ball, secures the tackle, and runs his feet on contact. He also shows the ability to get off blocks fairly easily when in pursuit of the ball carrier. Devin also sees some snaps on offense at wide receiver. He currently holds an offer from Bethel University (TN) and I expect more to start coming in early in his senior season. </span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="287571" first="Jeremiah" last="Goodwin"]</strong>| 6’2", 190 lbs.| Owensboro High School|<a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9958530/61eb10323452a507dc59cf58"> Junior Year Film</a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Goodwin is coming off of an outstanding junior season in which he finished fourth in the state of Kentucky with 13 sacks. To add to that, he also had 56 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss, one interception, and three forced fumbles. He serves as a stand up edge rusher and has a very quick first step off the ball. When he isn’t able to beat offensive tackles with pure speed, he shows the ability to shed blocks and get to the quarterback. Once he gets to the quarterback, he is a very strong finisher, as you can see in his sack numbers. He also does a great job of reading the play and reacting quickly. Goodwin currently holds offers from Morehead State and Southeast Missouri State and I expect more to come as I believe he has the talent to play at the FCS level at the very least.</span> <strong>Tresean Benford</strong>| 6’0", 193 lbs.| Frederick Douglass High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12787565/61b0d0d0c124b50f00f562c4">Junior Year Film</a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">While Frederick Douglass has several players with multiple Division I offers, Benford is a lesser known player that should be talked about more this season. The first thing that stood out to me when watching his film is speed. Benford explodes off the edge as a pass rusher, simply running by opposing offensive linemen before they can get their hands on him. Once he gets to the quarterback, he does a great job of running his feet and finishing the sack. In the open field, Benford is a very reliable tackler. I also liked his coverage ability as he is very fluid when dropping in coverage and showed the ability to make plays on the ball. While he doesn’t hold any official offers yet, I expect them to come soon as Benford has been taking advantage of camp opportunities so far this summer. </span> <strong>Jake Harmeyer</strong>| 6’0", 200 lbs.| Cooper High School| <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12926521/61942f563865400534c59de1">Junior Year Film</a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Harmeyer is coming off of an impressive junior campaign in which he finished with 98 tackles, two sacks, and four fumble recoveries. He shows very impressive quickness of the edge as a pass rusher, using his strong first step to his advantage against offensive tackles. Harmeyer plays with a high motor and shows the ability to get to the ball regardless of where the play is. Once he gets to the ball, he is a very physical tackler, doing a great job of running his feet on contact. He is also very reliable in coverage, showing fluidity in his drops and great zone awareness. He does a great job of reacting and breaking on the ball to break up the pass. Harmeyer is also without any official offers but has been receiving interest from a few college programs. </span>