2025 Elite Combine: Top 2026 Linebackers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quacey Hughes</strong>, McCluer North - 6'2" 198<br>- 4.86 forty - 4.16 pro agility - 9' broad jump - 32" vertical jump<br>A big time sleeper who missed a good portion of his junior season after recording 13 tackles when he came back at the end but really jumped out at everyone at the combine with an outstanding performance. Q was one of the most athletic linebackers overall and showed great speed, power and explosive in his testing along with good body control and change of direction quickness as well. Besides his good testing numbers he also stood out in pass coverage in drills and one on ones with sticking with and shutting down receivers. Q has seen a bunch of college interest pop up post-combine for him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1585613' first='Brody' last='Wilmes'], North Point - 6'3" 195<br>- 5.05 forty - 4.47 pro agility - 8'6" broad jump - 29" vertical jump<br>Another talented junior linebacker who played a big role in his teams defense and had an outstanding season recording 100 total tackles, 2 sacks, a fumble recovery and a pick. Brody is a long athlete who can run and cover a lot of ground in a hurry. He showed good speed in testing along with good overall athleticism and good power. I liked what I saw with his ability to cover backs and tight ends in the 1v1s portion of the combine as well. A definite college prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1127288' first='Tyson' last='Bronson'], Orchard Farm - 6'1" 200<br>- 4.89 forty - 4.19 pro agility - 9'6" broad jump - 28" vertical jump <br>- An absolute motor monster who goes with great intensity in every thing he does. Tenacious competitor who goes at 100 miles per hour. Won one of the combine MVP game balls for his performance both in testing where he was among the best linebackers at the combine, and with his impressive pass coverage ability he displayed against backs and receivers in one one ones. Tyson was a tackling machine with 147 as a junior along with 3 sacks. He also played running back and you could tell he used some of that experience in his pass coverage. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gavin Dobbs</strong>, Triad - 6'2" 228<br>- 5.07 forty - 4.56 pro agility - 8'10" broad jump - 28" vertical jump<br>Another surprise for me was the big linebacker Dobbs, who has all the measurables and athletic ability that colleges look for in a LB prospect. Gavin has good speed and ran his forty well to prove it, he also has good strength and power that he showed in his testing. He did a nice job running with receivers and backs and showed he could do that well too. As a junior he recorded 63 tackles and should be one of the top returning linebackers in the St. Louis are in 2025. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1073092' first='Brady' last='Kluba']</strong>, Parkway West - 6'0" 196<br>-5.27 forty - 4.7 pro agility - <br>One of the toughest linebackers at the combine was the hardnosed Kluba, who is super physical and likes to hit on the field. He brought that intensity to the combine and looked very good in drills and one on one competition showing some good ability to handle pass coverage. He tested well and went hard in each testing event showing good focus and solid athleticism in his forty and pro agility with his speed and quickness. Brady has transferred from Pattonville to Parkway West and will help give the Longhorns one of the best linebacker corps in the St. Louis area in 2025. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->