2024 Rankings Update: Top 10 LBs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 Rankings have been updated for the final time of their cycle and nearly 300 new names have been added! There are now almost 400 names in our 2024 Rankings with PRZ WV ranking every senior prospect that had film on their HUDL to evaluate. Here are the Top 10 linebackers in the 2024 class!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["370285"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"One of two P5 LB signees during the D1 early signing period was Cabell Midland linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='370285' first='Cannon' last='Lewis'] who will take his talents to NC State and join the Wolfpack. Lewis ranks as our #1 overall linebacker and #2 player in the 2024 class. The 6'2 225 middle linebacker had a huge senior season for the Knights totaling 181 tackles, 18 TFLs, and 4 sacks this year. Lewis won't need much time in NC State's strength and conditioning program to be game-ready in college as he's already well-built and a nice-sized athlete. He also has the athleticism to play at the P5 level and although there weren't many coverage highlights on his senior film he showed very good pursuit speed. Lewis is also a physical player showing he can make tackles at the line of scrimmage and doesn't let ball carriers fall forward.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["866263"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"The top two linebackers in the 2024 class are both Cabell Midland Knights with the second being [player_tooltip player_id='866263' first='Curtis' last='Jones Jr'] and #3 overall player. Based on his film and production during his high school career, Jones Jr could've been ranked as a running back where he would've been ranked #1 but he'll most likely play linebacker in college which is why we ranked him as one. He'll head to Morgantown and became a Mountaineer during the early signing period and is one of five current P5 prospects in the WV 2024 class. Jones Jr rushed for over 1,700 yards and 27 touchdowns this season for the Knights and is a tremendous overall athlete. He had some linebacker highlights to evaluate and I actually thought he showed more twitch there than he did as a running back. At 6'2 210, I could easily see him getting up to that 230-235 pound range and playing Sam or Will backer at WVU. I would be surprised if he's not a starter in college within three years and I expect him to have a good college career.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["370283"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='370283' first='Aydin' last='Fleming'] out of Hedgesville earned one-half of our Class AAA Co-Defensive Players of the Year honors sharing the honor with former Martinsburg teammate [player_tooltip player_id='888165' first='Rashad' last='Reid']. Saying Fleming had a productive season with his new school would be an understatement as he finished his senior year with 167 tackles, 23 TFLs, 24 QB hurries, and 10 sacks. He made the move to linebacker from primarily being a defensive end in the past and the move paid off for him. Fleming showed great natural instincts in his first year playing the linebacker position and his amount of production speaks to his level of ability and athleticism. He's a true outside linebacker who is very good coming off the edge but is athletic enough to drop into coverage at times. Fleming is a high-ceiling player who is only scratching the surface of his linebacker potential and is worthy of a D1 school giving him a shot and letting him develop in their program for a couple of years. If not, he'll earn some accolades at a D2 school and be a steal for any program at that level that gets him.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["892313"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"I really love Linsly middle linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='892313' first='Raymond' last='Kovalesky']'s game, and he comes in at #4 in our 2024 linebacker rankings. He has a classic middle linebacker name, size, and style of play and will make a college program very happy when he signs in February. The 6'3 225 senior has been a mainstay in the Cadets' program and he earned PRZ WV Class AA First Team All-State honors and was named the WTOV9 Defensive Player of the Year in the Ohio Valley. Watching him is like watching a middle linebacker that was plucked out of the 1970s or 80s, and Kovalesky is your classic throwback Mike backer. He's a very physical player who loves coming downhill and laying a big textbook hit. Kovalesky is as stout as they come and if he were just a bit more fluid of an athlete he would be playing at the FBS level, and I still believe an FCS school should offer him.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["370356"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Rounding out our Top 5 linebacker rankings is North Marion's [player_tooltip player_id='370356' first='Casey' last='Minor'] who won the Chuck Howley award as the state's best linebacker this season by the WVSWA. Minor totaled 111.5 tackles this season while being limited in a few games due to injury. Minor really jumped up our rankings after a very good senior season which saw him and his Huskies team play for a state championship which became quite possibly the best championship game in the state's history. Minor showed tremendous improvement from his junior season and saw his stock really rise this year. He's also QB1 for North Marion but will almost assuredly play linebacker at the next level. If he were just a bit bigger he'd be even higher in our rankings and Minor has great natural instincts for the position.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["160731"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Another PRZ WV First Team All-State selection for the linebacker position was Jefferson middle linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='160731' first='Nolan' last='Meehleib']. The 6'2 205 senior just picked up his first offer from D2 Glenville State and I expect him to sign with a school from that level in February. Meehleib is a very good athlete who will be scary when he gets up in that 225-230 pound range in the future. He's a raw linebacker prospect but you can tell right away when watching his film that he has a high ceiling at the next level. Meehleib has very good pursuit speed and can lay some punishing hits. He has a very quick burst and fast reactionary time when reading plays. Meehleib is a fluid athlete with some twitch in his movements and just needs to let the other aspects of the position catch up.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["892314"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Parkersburg outside linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='892314' first='Matthew' last='Stalnaker'] put up some big stats this season for the Big Reds and is a versatile athlete. He and his twin brother Andrew could play a number of positions at the next level but I think Matthew's best position is linebacker which is what we ranked him as. He comes in as our #7 ranked linebacker in the 2024 class and totaled 100 tackles, 23 TFLs, and 6 sacks this season. Stalnaker was also the second-leading receiver for the Big Reds finishing with nearly 600 yards and 5 touchdowns. The 6'3 180 athlete could grow into a tight end at the next level but I believe his ceiling as an outside linebacker is very high and translates best at that position. Stalnaker is a natural athlete who will succeed at the D2 college level after some time developing and figuring out which position is best for him.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["892319"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"u003cspan data-preserver-spaces=u0022trueu0022u003eHuntington linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='892319' first='Camryn' last='Veazey'] was just mentioned in our u003c/spanu003eu003ca class=u0022editor-rtfLinku0022 href=u0022https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/2024-rankings-update-new-to-the-top-100/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eu003cspan data-preserver-spaces=u0022trueu0022u003eNew to the Top 1oou003c/spanu003eu003c/au003eu003cspan data-preserver-spaces=u0022trueu0022u003e article and ranks as the #8 linebacker in the 2024 class. He's an intriguing prospect who could play outside linebacker or a box safety at 6'1 175. No coverage highlights to evaluate but the athleticism jumps off the screen when watching his senior highlights. Veazey should be able to get up in that 190-pound range and if he can add the weight his ceiling increases even more. He's a very good track athlete as well so it's very possible that he could slide back to more of a traditional safety at the next level too. Right now, Veazey is mostly a see-ball get-ball linebacker but has a lot of natural ability that you can mold into a very good college player in time. u003c/spanu003e","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_player":["892320"],"_player_evaluations_8_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"Another linebacker who entered our Top 100 from this past 2024 Rankings update was Independence linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='892320' first='Derrick' last='Hypes']. The 6'2 215 middle linebacker was a very productive player during his high school career and finished his senior season with 160 tackles. He's another throwback MLB type whose athleticism limits his ceiling but his play and instincts make up for it. Hypes increased his size significantly this season and battled back from an ACL injury sustained in last year's state championship. He comes from a winning program that has great linebacker development and is someone D2 schools should be looking at and a steal if he ends up at the D3 level.","_player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_9_player":["370256"],"_player_evaluations_9_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"Rounding out our Top 10 linebacker rankings in the 2024 class is Parkersburg South's [player_tooltip player_id='370256' first='Turner' last='Garretson'] who was a PRZ WV First Team Class AAA All-State selection this season. The 6'0 225 senior could play inside or outside backer at the next level and is also on that D2/D3 prospect line. Garretson was QB1 this season for the Patriots where he was very productive but his ceiling is much higher at linebacker. He's a good athlete who runs and moves well and it's very apparent that he loves the game of football. Garretson is a fierce competitor who's going to give you all he has and plays with a lot of heart. I think size may be what's keeping him under the radar a bit but I think he's worthy of some D2 looks and someone who can help you on special teams right away while developing more as a linebacker.","_player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":10,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65876476e1d55"} /-->