2027 Rankings Newcomers - Linebackers

The Class of 2027 is full of talent from top to bottom, and it was fun taking a deep dive into some talented linebackers who did a great job of putting good stuff on film and playing their way into our Spring Rankings update here in North Carolina! Let's take a look at a few of these talented second-level defenders and tell you what impressed us about their overall game.    In the years I have been covering players, the meteoric rise Jalaythan showed this off-season from a recruiting perspective has been enormous. In early November last year, Jalaythan received his first offer from South Carolina. At the time of writing this, he now sits at 30 Division 1 offers, the vast majority being Power 4 schools. Colleges are hot after Jalaythan because at his size, he moves very well laterally and downhill, and he is an excellent tackler in space. On top of that, Jalaythan 's anticipation and eyes are off the charts. He gets to spots with extreme quickness and with great explosion. 103 solo tackles and 10 sacks from an off-ball linebacker position is very impressive, and I think he can produce even more this upcoming season for a team on the rise.     Jayden does a very good job of finding his way through traffic from his inside linebacker position to make tackles on a consistent basis. The patience is a good thing to be able to read plays, but there are some times when windows open that you want to see Jayden trust his eyes and explode to slam the window shut, but that will come with more reps and coaching. Jayden has an excellent GPA and that knowledge translates on the field as well.     Alijah has impressed this off-season at some camps/showcases types of environments, and his film shows some good things. Alijah has the athletic profile of an outside linebacker who can play in space with good speed and athleticism. On film, he shows good reactionary processing to a play in his zone. Alijah explodes to the ball carrier and makes an impressive open field tackle. Alijah has a chance to really become an important piece of the Raiders defense this upcoming season.     With 96 tackles and 10 tackles for loss last season, Owen helped lead South Rowan to their first playoff berth since 1984 last season, an amazing feat for that program! Owen was an All-County selection for his work, and should be an integral part of his defense again this season. Owen does a good job plugging holes from his middle linebacker position in general. Owen also shows good speed within the hashes to run down ball carriers and tackle well in space. Owen also shows agility in space to cover the middle of the field in the passing game. There are a couple of clips where Owen is a strong fullback and clearing holes from the formation. Good player who should be a team leader this upcoming season.     Elijah is a versatile defender who can play off ball or on the edge for his defense. As an off-ball player, Elijah shows good instincts to get to the football in the running game, with good speed and tackling ability in the open field. His defense also blitzed him from depth a good bit and Elijah affected the quarterback on multiple occasions on film with good acceleration to get into the backfield quickly. Elijah has received some college interest and as long as his production continues to increase with more reps, he should be an even more important player for his defense this upcoming season.

The Class of 2027 is full of talent from top to bottom, and it was fun taking a deep dive into some talented linebackers who did a great job of putting good stuff on film and playing their way into our Spring Rankings update here in North Carolina! Let's take a look at a few of these talented second-level defenders and tell you what impressed us about their overall game.