Top 2025 Charlotte Outside Linebackers/EDGE Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mark Foster - West Mecklenburg</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I could have put Mark in several categories - defensive back, and athlete, but I settled on outside linebacker. Mainly because at the end of the day, Mark produces the most in that role. Last season Mark had 117 total tackles, 84 solo tackles, and 6 tackles for loss on defense. Mark also contributed offensively with 596 yards rushing, showing his overall athletic ability on the field. Some things stand out quickly when you look at his film as a defender. Mark is excellent in pass coverage - I witnessed him have two interceptions in the first half of their season-opening game in person. He has very good discipline in man and zone coverage when flexed out over slot receivers and tight ends. Mark is also a tackling machine - he does a great job of reading plays in the run game and taking the correct angles to make solo tackles with great form and shows excellent speed running all over the field. He should see recruiting attention pickup as a 5'11 195-pound prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alique Hart - Chambers </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alique is a 6'1 240 pound Edge prospect who can play some linebacker and interior defensive line at times based on the opponent and defensive scheme. He currently has some college interest and I expect with a strong start to the season for him to jump on the recruiting boards of multiple schools. When you look at his highlight film, Alique's strength is shedding blocks quickly of offensive linemen and making tackles for loss in the backfield. He has been in the weight room for sure when you see this numerous times over and over. Alique also shows some zone coverage ability with an interception. I think Alique is a very good run defender with some upside to show more in his game this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='457612' first='Zion' last='Burden'] - Mallard Creek</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When you talk about an explosive pass rusher off the edge, Zion is one of those guys. At 5'11 and 230 pounds, his highlight tape is fun to watch. Zion shows a few different moves off of the edge to disrupt offenses - he has a good rip move through the outside shoulder of an offensive tackle, then uses his speed and leverage to get quarterback sacks. Zion also shows off a push/pull move, using a two-hand punch to get into an offensive lineman's chest, and then works his hands to shed the block of the lineman and penetrate the backfield. Zion has excellent speed, running plays down all over the field and making tackles for losses in the backfield. Zion is a hard worker and will be an asset to a program on the next level for sure. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1303805' first='Eddie' last='Conover'] - Hough </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eddie had a very strong season last year at Northwest Cabarrus High School, producing 100 total tackles, 30 tackles for loss, and 17 sacks - incredible production for sure. At 6'2 and 220 pounds, Eddie has an offer from Charlotte and recruiting interest from other colleges as well. When you look at the film, Eddie shows you some excellent speed as his first highlight is a 65-yard touchdown run as a running back. After that, you see him coming off the edge repeatedly with good technique and making multiple tackles and sacks in the backfield. Eddie has an excellent first step and shows good strength along with that get-off to produce a multitude of game-changing plays. I would expect Eddie to pick up recruiting interest and offers as he enters the camp circuit this spring and summer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1303807' first='Adrian' last='Scott'] - Corvian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 6'5 200-pound prospect, Adrian jumped on the radar with some good production in a short amount of time. Playing in only 5 games this past season, Adrian produced 48 total tackles and 8 sacks. Looking at his film, he shows very good speed coming off the edge and uses his athletic ability to shed blocks and get sacks on the quarterback. That same ability allows him to run plays down in space as well when the play goes away from him. It will be exciting to see him develop this upcoming season. Adrian has been offered by Coastal Carolina, Kentucky, and Buffalo - and I expect as he gets into more camps in the spring and summer, more offers will come his way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->