Top linebacker classes in the 2025 cycle

The 2025 cycle is chock full of elite linebackers. Each of the top 11 LB prospects are inside the On3 Industry Ranking top 100 overall, while an additional 27 LBs have blue-chip status entering their senior seasons.

Of those 38 prospects, 33 are already committed, including seven of the top 10. As a result, some schools have loaded up with versatile, high-caliber athletes at the position.

Below are four programs that have put together impressive hauls in the linebacker room midway through August.

Ohio State

5-star LB Riley Pettijohn (No. 32 NATL., No. 2 LB)
4-star LB Tarvos Alford (No. 68 NATL., No. 4 LB)
3-star LB Eli Lee (No. 520 NATL., No. 55 LB)

Riley Pettijohn spurned in-state Texas and Texas A&M to choose the Buckeyes last month. He’s since obtained five-star status and is one of the many headliners in the fold for Ryan Day and Co. Tarvos Alford isn’t far behind on the national rankings and has also seen his stock improve ahead of his senior season following a March commitment. Eli Lee was the second prospect to join Ohio State’s 2025 class, doing so back in October. The in-state recruit rounds out an impressive linebacker trio that’s currently set to head to Columbus next year.

LSU

4-star LB Charles Ross (No. 98 NATL., No. 11 LB)
4-star LB Keylan Moses (No. 251 NATL., No. 25 LB)
3-star LB Jaiden Braker (No. 701 NATL., No. 75 LB)

LSU’s linebacker trifecta hails from three different states. Charles Ross headlines as one of the top players on North Shore High in Houston, a top-10 program nationally. Ross committed in March, four months after Keylan Moses — the latest Baton Rouge University Lab product to choose to stay home. The Tigers then flipped Jaiden Braker from South Carolina at the end of July to add some depth to the nation’s No. 3 class.

Miami

4-star LB Gavin Nix (No. 157 NATL., No. 15 LB)
4-star LB Elijah Melendez (No. 172 NATL., No. 17 LB)
3-star LB Ezekiel Marcelin (No. 482 NATL., No. 48 LB)

The Hurricanes’ No. 12 recruiting class is heavily bolstered by their trio of linebacker pledges. Despite flip rumors, Elijah Melendez has remained solid in his commitment to Miami, which happened back in December. Like Moses with LSU, Ezekiel Marcelin is coming out of Miami Central high and is set to make the easy move to campus in Coral Gables next year. Gavin Nix out of in-state IMG Academy highlights the group and was one of the may blue-chippers to commit to the Canes in July.

USC

4-star LB Matai Tagoa’i (No. 82 NATL., No. 7 LB)
4-star LB Jadon Perlotte (No. 204 NATL., No. 21 LB)

The Trojans currently carry one of the top one-two punches at the position. Matai Tagoa’i is a top-five prospect in the state of California and is one of two top-100 overall prospects in USC’s class thus far. He was flanked by Jadon Perlotte on July 30, as Lincoln Riley and Co. were able to flip the Peach State native from his long-standing pledge to Georgia.