Elephant in the room. Yes, the recently ranked Sun Valley junior is tiny, yet I could hardly tell when plugging in the tape for the first time. Jones, Digan, and Cook are all viable answers to man any of the four LB spots Sun Valley likes to deploy. The program has a serious fourth option in Ryder Strickland Ryder Strickland 5'7" | 170 lbs | LB Sun Valley | 2026 PA . 5’7, 170 pounds soaking wet, Strickland begins his tape proving to those questioning that he can take blocks head-on, win at the point of attack, shed, and get to ball carriers. His first rep has him blowing back a OG four-five yards into the backfield, a rep that led to a TFL. Strickland has a bit of a mean streak to him, I can tell by the way he wants to end reps. You’re going to feel this kid, he’s going to hit you with everything he’s got, albeit not much. You can pretend he’s an easy tackle-break between the trenches, that is until he squares up and hit you like he weighs 220 pounds. Strickland is yet another piece of what is a great front-seven.