2025 Rankings: Linebacker Crop Doing Work
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The Prep RedZone squad clearly has taken a liking to the linebackers in the Class of 2025. We’ve got 44 of them ranked, after all. This is one of those times where we’d love to split up a position, though.…
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Continue ReadingThe Prep RedZone squad clearly has taken a liking to the linebackers in the Class of 2025.
We’ve got 44 of them ranked, after all.
This is one of those times where we’d love to split up a position, though. Because in this crop, we’re seeing guys who put up ludicrous tackle figures from middle linebacker, guys who seal and crash the edge with authority and still others who put it all together in their own unique blend of the role they play.
Regardless, this class is strong.
Let’s have a look.
Rank
|
Player
|
Height
|
High School
|
Commitment
|
Weight
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
5’9″
|
Spartanburg
|
||||
2 |
6’4″
|
Trinity Collegiate
|
||||
3 |
5’7″
|
Midland Valley
|
||||
4 |
6’3″
|
Oceanside Collegiate
|
||||
5 |
6’0″
|
JL Mann
|
||||
6 |
6’1″
|
Gaffney
|
||||
7 |
5’10”
|
Ashley Ridge
|
||||
8 |
5’11”
|
Hampton County
|
||||
9 |
5’10”
|
Clinton
|
||||
10 |
6’0″
|
Belton-Honea Path
|
||||
11 |
6’0″
|
Johnsonville
|
||||
12 |
5’10”
|
Myrtle Beach
|
||||
13 |
6’1″
|
Gaffney
|
||||
14 |
5’11”
|
Hartsville
|
||||
15 |
6’0″
|
South Florence
|
||||
16 |
5’10”
|
Stratford
|
||||
17 |
5’10”
|
Spartanburg
|
||||
18 |
6’0″
|
Loris
|
||||
19 |
5’11”
|
Daniel
|
||||
20 |
6’0″
|
Lucy Beckham
|
||||
21 |
5’10”
|
Beaufort
|
||||
22 |
5’11”
|
Northwestern
|
||||
23 |
5’9″
|
Airport
|
||||
24 |
5’10”
|
South Pointe
|
||||
25 |
5’11”
|
Bishop England
|
||||
26 |
5’11”
|
Airport
|
||||
27 |
6’1″
|
Riverside
|
||||
28 |
5’9″
|
Lake City
|
||||
29 |
6’0″
|
Scott’s Branch
|
||||
30 |
5’9″
|
Newberry
|
||||
31 |
5’9″
|
Nation Ford
|
||||
32 |
5’9″
|
Lewisville
|
||||
33 |
6’2″
|
Pendleton
|
||||
34 |
6’2″
|
Lake City
|
||||
35 |
5’10”
|
Ben Lippen
|
||||
36 |
6’1″
|
Greer
|
||||
37 |
6’0″
|
Barnwell
|
||||
38 |
5’10”
|
Thomas Heyward
|
||||
39 |
5’10”
|
Greer
|
||||
40 |
5’10”
|
Whale Branch
|
||||
41 |
5’10”
|
Lake City
|
||||
42 |
5’10”
|
Rock Hill
|
||||
43 |
5’11”
|
Easley
|
||||
44 |
5’8″
|
Pendleton
|
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Continue ReadingBREAKING DOWN THE TOP FIVE
Cam’Rich Smith Cam’Rich Smith 5'9" | 200 lbs | LB Spartanburg | 2025 State SC Spartanburg
Now that we have officially verified metrics on Smith, we can tell you that he’s actually 5-foot-9 (not 5-foot-10). And we can also tell you that we don’t care. Ball don’t lie. Smith has spent much the last two seasons impressing us by constantly playing at a high level against some brutal competition. He uses his now-200 pounds to inflict damage. Ask South Pointe – whom he racked up 20 tackles against in last year’s opener – how good he is. Smith’s 14 tackles for loss, nine sacks and two forced fumbles prove just how vital he is to this defense.
James Herbert James Herbert 6'4" | 215 lbs | LB Trinity Collegiate | 2025 State SC Trinity Collegiate
We’ve been following Herbert since his freshman season because from the time he started playing at Trinity, he stood out as a guy most coaches want leading the team off the bus. Now 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, he had 101 total tackles last fall to go along with 18 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, a sack and a pick. Flash forward to this August, and what you’re likely going to see is Herbert shifting more toward an outside linebacker spot that allows him to become more of a nuisance off the edge. If all goes to plan, get ready to see the swarm of college attention.
Andon Hawkins Andon Hawkins 5'7" | 205 lbs | LB Midland Valley | 2025 State SC Midland Valley
We can’t say this definitively because not every team inputs its stats into MaxPreps’ national data base, but Hawkins was clearly one of the top tacklers in 2023, if not the top tackler. His 187 stops over the course of his junior season were also top-30 in the aforementioned data base. He’s an anomaly in many ways, thanks to the fact that he’s got a verified height of just 5-foot-7. Yet, he’s also every bit of 205 pounds. Hawkins doesn’t shy away from anyone. After all, you don’t put up the numbers he did by luck.
Max Moorman Max Moorman 6'3" | 200 lbs | LB Oceanside Collegiate | 2025 State SC Oceanside Collegiate
We were more than willing to give one-year Landshark Miles Robinson Miles Robinson 6'1" | 205 lbs | LB Oceanside Collegiate | 2024 State SC his due last year. After transferring in from Waccamaw last summer, Robinson went on to lead OCA with 131 tackles and 27 tackles for loss. It overshadowed just how good Moorman was at the same time. The younger of the team’s two linebackers finished with 97 tackles, 12 sacks and an all-important interception in the team’s state championship victory over Gray. This season, Moorman is primed to take on an even larger role with Robinson graduating. We know Moorman is going to excel.
Wyatt Ward Wyatt Ward 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB JL Mann | 2025 State SC JL Mann
We wanted to get another look at Ward prior to moving him into the rankings, and what we saw at the Spartanburg site of the Carolinas Coaches Combines backed up his insane tackle figures from 2023 and his stellar highlight reel. Ward is around the ball almost every play. At 6-foot and 225 pounds, he still ran a sub-five-second 40 time, put up a 109-inch broad jump and pushed 185 pounds on the bench 20 times. All that power is what makes him so special, and it’s a big reason he didn’t just move into our rankings; he jumped way up the board.
TEN RISING STARS
Hank Aeppli Hank Aeppli 6'0" | 190 lbs | LB Lucy Beckham | 2025 State SC Lucy Beckham – Of the Bengals’ top seven tackles last season, six were seniors and have moved on. We won’t make you guess the returner. We’ll just tell you that his 71 stops last fall was only the tip of the ice berg.
Alonzo Allen Alonzo Allen 5'10" | 170 lbs | LB Whale Branch | 2025 State SC Whale Branch – Our introduction to Allen was him leading the front of his team’s tug-of-war pack during the December combine. When we watched his film, we saw that same type of fire while he’s in pads, too.
Web Barnes Web Barnes 5'11" | 215 lbs | LB Hartsville | 2025 State SC Hartsville – We know Barnes missed all of 2023. And we know he still wasn’t healed up in time to take part in the Joanne Langfitt Challenge. But then we saw him back and better than ever at the March Combine.
Cameron Coe Cameron Coe 6'0" | 185 lbs | LB South Florence | 2025 State SC South Florence – When Coe went down in October, the staff initially feared he was done for the year. Instead, he only missed five games and helped the team qualify for a second straight Class 4A title game.
Spencer Conn Spencer Conn 5'11" | 215 lbs | LB Daniel | 2025 State SC Daniel – Conn gets the advantage of a lot of extra games. But we can’t ignore the fact that he’ll enter his senior year with 271 career tackles, 28 career tackles for loss, 15 career sacks and five career fumble recoveries.
Jordan Conner Jordan Conner 5'10" | 195 lbs | LB Ben Lippen | 2025 State SC Ben Lippen – He’s going to enter his senior season with 162 career tackles, 120 of which came during his junior season. If you don’t feel like doing the math, that’s a three-to-one jump from his sophomore season to his junior one.
Fletcher Ethington-Carl Fletcher Ethington-Carl 5'11" | 200 lbs | LB Bishop England | 2025 State SC Bishop England – Bishop England struggled more than it didn’t last fall, but it wasn’t because of Ethington-Carl. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder is active and cleaning up a lot of plays in the second level of the defense.
John Henderson John Henderson 6'2" | 185 lbs | LB Pendleton | 2025 State SC Pendleton – Henderson put up great numbers (92 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass deflections) for a team that was scoring a heck of a lot more than it was giving up. He and most of his cohorts will be back.
Tye Kelly Tye Kelly 6'0" | 175 lbs | LB Belton-Honea Path | 2025 State SC Belton-Honea Path – Kelly is a ferocious tackler who finished 2023 with 76 stops, 13 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries and five pass deflections. We love his motor and his place in one of the best teams in the state.
Brody Runion Brody Runion 6'1" | 190 lbs | LB Greer | 2025 State SC Greer – As a junior, Runion wasn’t asked to carry the load, yet he still finished with 91 tackles and 12 tackles for loss, both third on the team. The two guys ahead of him are out of high school eligibility. What do you think that does for Runion?
FIVE DARK HORSE 2024 CANDIDATES
Brody Diggins Brody Diggins 5'10" | 175 lbs | LB Greer | 2025 State SC Greer – Much like his teammate above (Runion), Diggins got an on-field dry run of sorts without the stress. Diggins still performed to the tune of 70 tackles and – again, like Runion – gets a bigger piece of the pie next time around.
Carson Gregory Carson Gregory 5'8" | 185 lbs | LB Pendleton | 2025 State SC Pendleton – Gregory is going to be a bit overlooked since he’s only 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds. But production matters to us and he produces plenty. His fit in this defense is clearly defined well in advance of his senior season.
Antwain Jones Antwain Jones 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Lake City | 2025 State SC Lake City – While the Panthers played 2023 without their head coach due to the effect of the devastating bus accident, Jones was also sidelined for the year due to his own injuries. All signs point to him returning as a senior with a high, high ceiling.
Montrelle Keys Montrelle Keys 5'9" | 200 lbs | LB Airport | 2025 State SC Airport – Keys finished third on the Eagles’ roster last fall with 98 total tackles, 71 of which were solo stops. He’s got a nice burst and pitches in behind the line of scrimmage, too. A high-quality 2024 seems inevitable.
Jack Merriman Jack Merriman 6'1" | 180 lbs | LB Riverside | 2025 State SC Riverside – Merriman led the Warriors in tackles for loss (18) and sacks (six), something he was able to do because he was so flexible in his pre-snap positioning. From there, he can let his athletic ability do the rest.
ARE THEIR MORE?
That’s 44 players we’ve already deemed necessary of a ranking next to their name. Working from the southeast to the northwest corners of the state, dudes like Mandrell Sanders Mandrell Sanders 5'11" | 190 lbs | LB Hampton County | 2025 State SC to Dylan Polansky Dylan Polansky 5'10" | 195 lbs | LB Ashley Ridge | 2025 State SC to Bryant Cherry Bryant Cherry 5'11" | 215 lbs | LB Airport | 2025 State SC to Brett Young Brett Young 5'10" | 175 lbs | LB Clinton | 2025 State SC to Kyler Turner Kyler Turner 5'11" | 190 lbs | LB Easley | 2025 State SC have given us every reason to include them.
But we’re guessing we’re not done.
This will spawn more. And then more after that.
We’re going to keep looking.