It took Gordon’s recruitment a bit more time to take off, but in recent months he’s soaring on the trail. Clemson, Virginia, and other ACC teams have made the 6′, 215-pound linebacker a priority and it’s easy to see how that transition might work for Gordon. He can run and he can hit. He has more untapped coverage potential and is already and elite run defender.

Caleb had a very strong season last year, which has skyrocketed his recruiting to Power 5 levels, and it is all very much deserved. Caleb is aggressive coming downhill and is like a missile to ball carriers in the backfield. He has improved his strength and plays off of attempted blocks by interior linemen and backs very well. Caleb is a true 3-down linebacker as he shows the speed and intelligence to play both man and zone assignments in pass coverage. It will be fun to see where he ultimately decides to play on the next level.

Gordon is a prototypical modern linebacker. He looks and plays more like a safety, but I’m really impressed with his ability to play in tight spaces. It’s hard for offensive linemen to square him up and when they do engage, he shows excellent power to disengage. He can get downhill (and sideline-to-sideline) in a hurry and he’s a big hitter. When he makes a tackle, the offensive player feels it. His recruitment has picked up in recent weeks and he has the look of a Power Four linebacker.

Last year I wrote about Caleb for our rankings update and said that his ranking and notoriety would increase a ton for the upcoming season, and man did that take place in a big way. This isn’t a rankings article but Caleb definitely moved up for us and it was a well earned recognition. Caleb was named the Big South Conference Defensive Player Of The Year with over 130 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions. From a recruiting perspective, Caleb’s interest definitely increased exponentially. North Carolina, Liberty, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, & Virginia are just some of the offers Caleb has received. Very happy for this young man’s success so far.

Caleb is one of the hottest linebacker recruits in the state currently, picking up offers from North Carolina, Liberty, and Virginia Tech in the last week. I think Caleb did a good job in slowing down the interior run game of the Chargers. You could see the gameplan from Crest was to run outside, primarily with outside zone plays, to stay away from Caleb’s presence in the middle of the field. Caleb did a good job of running plays down in the running game and showed good discipline in pass coverage – he had a nice pass breakup in the first quarter as a reflection of this.

Caleb currently has offers from Charlotte and Austin Peay and is lined up to have a big junior season for the Green Wave. I thought Caleb was one of the best linebackers in the Charlotte Metro area this off-season, and his ranking here is really reflective of a deep linebacker class across the state here. I think if Caleb has another strong season like he did last year, in our next rankings update he should see a big rise on where he stacks up against similar individual competition. Caleb is a three down linebacker who loves contact and is an excellent tackler in the open field.