Isaiah is a player I came away supremely impressed with in a loss – the opening-season loss Robinson had against Myers Park last year. Even with the Bulldogs down on the scoreboard, Isaiah kept playing extremely hard and encouraging his teammates. As a sophomore, that showed me a lot. And that was a precursor to a special season – at his linebacker spot, Isaiah had 134 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks. Isaiah is a major collegiate football recruit, and it will be fun to watch him have another big season leading the Bulldogs’ defense this year.

Isaiah is in the ATH category even though he had a dominant breakout season as a linebacker this past season. Isaiah has played some wide receiver in his past, and at a pretty good level, so he’s got some ability on both sides of the ball. As it stands, though, this past season, Isaiah totaled 134 tackles with an incredible 115 of those tackles being solo tackles! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a ratio of solo to assisted tackles be that high. On top of that, Isaiah had 19 tackles for loss and 8 sacks, just an incredible season production-wise. I saw him live a couple of times – and in the season opener against Myers Park, he was all over the field, and showed some impressive leadership skills even as a sophomore. College football programs have seen the same thing, and he’s picked up offers from Old Dominion, Charlotte, East Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech, Troy, and Western Kentucky so far. The future is bright, and the ceiling is very high for Isaiah, in my opinion.

Woodburn likely profiles as a full-time linebacker in our rankings after transferring into Robinson and primarily playing at that position in 2025. He was a tackling machine for the Bulldogs last season, with over 100 tackles and eight sacks as a versatile defender. He can play as an off-ball linebacker, occasional edge rusher, and play both safety positions, and the athletic profile means he’s going to be a hot commodity on the recruiting trail.

Woodburn emerged as one of the most productive underclass linebackers in the 704 last season, finishing with 134 total tackles—over 10 tackles per game—while also adding 8 sacks. He plays with a relentless motor and shows a natural feel for the position, consistently finding the football between the tackles and when scraping sideline to sideline. His sack numbers highlight his effectiveness as a blitzer, timing gaps well and closing with purpose. For a sophomore, the combination of volume tackling, backfield production, and consistency stands out. Woodburn is already a defensive tone-setter, and as his frame and game continue to mature, he projects as a major impact defender at the 3A–5A level with clear next-level upside.

Totaling 6 tackles on the night, Isaiah was a big part of a great effort in pursuit by the Bulldogs’ defense. NW Cabarrus really likes to stress the outside in their run game, but Woodburn and his teammates did a great job in gap integrity and taking great angles to slow down and stop the Trojan run game before it got going. On top of that, Isaiah did a great job tackling well in space, and he was fast and physical to the football all night long.

There wasn’t one play that stood out to me about Isaiah, but it was more about the way he played this game and his leadership. Even being a sophomore, every play I noticed him giving maximum effort, whether it was on defense or offense. On two offside penalties, he got on his teammates about it and wasn’t afraid to take charge. Those are signs of a future leader, and he’s got the talent to go with it.