2026 LB New Additions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're in the middle of an August Rankings Update <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/august-rankings-update-behind-the-scenes-of-the-2026-class/">built more on additions than movement</a>. Accordingly, we've got a lot of new players to look at. We hit all the offensive players earlier this week, and the defensive line Friday and Saturday. Here, we're breaking down a few of the 17(!) new linebackers to our rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's take a look at some 2026 LB new additions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">New 2026 LBs</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1702833"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70df76"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Richardson is highly productive at a position he isn't likely going to play at the next level, making him a difficult player to evaluate. He plays off the edge, and at 5'9", 200, the weight room warrior wins a lot with speed and power. He isn't likely to stick at edge at the next level, so I'm interested to see if he plays some off the ball as a senior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1425453"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70dff8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A high-academic linebacker-safety hybrid, I expect Rucker to play a modern linebacker role at the college level. After a productive season for Heritage last season, Rucker's recruitment got kicked off this summer with several high-academic offers from schools like Dension and Washington &amp; Lee. He's a high-I.Q., athletic linebacker who excels against both the run and pass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1709583"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70e047"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Atiles popped up on our radar when I previewed the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/07/predicting-every-teams-mvp-eastern-sandhills-5a-6a/">Eastern Sandhills 5A/6A Conference</a> earlier this Summer. He has great size and was key for Douglas Byrd's defense last season, with over 12 tackles a game last season. Atiles has some versatility to play both sides of the ball and the athleticism to match smaller, quicker running backs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1707968"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70e08c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Medlin-Sanders is basically a defensive back who is physical enough to play linebacker, a guy who could play either linebacker or safety, depending on how his body develops. He came to our attention during our RDU deep dives series when we saw how well he played last season. Expect an even bigger year from a versatile and athletic senior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1704835"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70e0ce"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">When I previewed the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/07/predicting-every-teams-mvp-eastern-plains-2a-3a/">Eastern Plains 2A/3A Conference</a> I got to dive into a bunch of Greene Central film and I came away impressed with Dildy's presence and physicality on defense. He can play multiple linebacker spots and has a good football I.Q., helping him pick up a bunch of tackles as a junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1751625"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70e10e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A sideline-to-sideline linebacker, Thrasher had an excellent season for Myers Park, especially against the run. He has the speed and lateral quickness to get out and make tackles outside the numbers and the size to bang around inside against bigger linemen. A late spring offer from Hampden-Sydney kicked off his recruitment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1698658"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-689796e70e163"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lowe was overshadowed a bit last season by some other fantastic defensive performances at Cleveland last season, but he still put up excellent numbers. He racked up over 100 tackles and three takeaways last season, and this year he's one of the stars of a very good defense. I'm looking forward to getting out to scout him in person this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other 2026 LB New Additions</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1706707' first='Landon' last='Bossolono']</strong>, DH Conley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1716197' first='Jayden' last='Summers']</strong>, Corvian Community</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Derek Mathis</strong>, Enloe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1704820' first='Cameron' last='Hall']</strong>, Farmville Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1709578' first='Damarion' last='Cook']</strong>, Douglas Byrd</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1743727' first='Derrick' last='Jones']</strong>, Jack Britt</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751610' first='Isaiah' last='Bufford']</strong>, Glenn</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1704821' first='Keivious' last='Bridgers']</strong>, Tarboro</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751605' first='Drew' last='Searls']</strong>, Grimsley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1393063' first='Robert' last='McCollum']</strong>, Dudley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->