Top Linebacking Corps in 6A and 5A for 2025
6A
5. San Marcos
Coach John Walsh has mentored over 90 Division I football players over his career, from Denton Guyer to San Marcos. He says senior Izayah Young (6-0, 205) is the most explosive player he’s ever coached. The SMU commit will rush off the edge and cover from his outside linebacker spot in 2025.
Texas State commit Darius Davis (6-3, 220) is the quarterback of the defense at Mike linebacker. He’s a great communicator who knows everyone’s job and is also a run stuffer.
Walsh says sophomore Cameron Bundage is already one of the program’s best football players, with a mean streak that pairs perfectly with great athleticism from the basketball court.
Expect senior Colson Geesee to be a key rotational player on San Marcos’ defense.
Coach Joseph Sam refers to senior Bryson Castile as the team’s juice. Castile came to Arlington Bowie at the beginning of last season and has embraced the leadership role. The Houston commit will play more Will outside linebacker this season after posting 59 tackles and five sacks as a nickel safety in 2024.
Senior Galatians Paogofie (6-0, 215) will focus on his natural position of Mike linebacker after playing all over the formation last season. Sam calls Paogofie, a First Team All-District 8-6A selection in 2024, a Division I caliber player.
Junior Don Rivas (5-10, 205) is pound-for-pound the strongest player on Bowie’s roster. Sam says his athleticism and twitchiness allow him to play both linebacker spots and nickel safety.
3. Waxahachie
Waxahachie has two of District 11-6A’s top five leading tacklers at linebacker in its 4-2-5 scheme.
Senior Damarion Cooper will be a four-year starter and team captain. He’s averaged over 100 tackles per year, with 143 last season. Coach Shane Tolleson says Cooper simply has that dog in him, and Waxahachie will be just fine if the entire team matches his intensity. Cooper has offers to Jackson State and Abilene Christian, among others.
Coach’s son, Kade Tolleson (5-11, 190), broke out as a sophomore with 131 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks. His film study allows him to make all the defensive calls pre-snap, aligning the front and secondary. Tolleson was also a district qualifier in the 100-meter dash this spring, with a time of 10.7. He holds early offers from Arkansas State and Southern Miss.
Sophomore Anthony Newton is a rising star who figures to start on every special teams unit while also serving as the primary backup for Cooper.
2. Clear Falls
Coach Zach Head has produced some Division I linebackers in the past couple of years, including Corey Kelly (Baylor) and Le’Kell McGowan (Memphis). But he says the 2025 team will be the deepest they’ve ever been at linebacker.
It starts with Utah commit Preston Pitts (6-4, 210), who racked up 116 tackles, 27 tackles for loss and nine sacks last year, earning First Team All-District 24-6A. Pitts has the range to drop into coverage but will rush the passer from his outside linebacker spot the majority of the time.
Fellow All-District selection Hunter Lehman (6-2, 210) is a run-first linebacker in the middle of Clear Falls' 3-4 defense. He processes and reads offensive line keys exactly as coached and is fearlessly physical at the point of attack.
Next to Lehman in the interior, junior Tristan Gaviria (6-0, 215) moved up from the JV in the middle of last season and has already become one of the team’s top leaders with his high-intensity personality. Briggs Worthington will play key snaps in the middle of the defense, as well.
Joel Garza (5-11, 185) plays the outside linebacker spot opposite Pitts and plays in space more than rushing the passer. He’ll rotate with junior Mario Cresta (6-1, 190), while Brayden Rupert (6-3, 205) will spell Pitts. Jayden Tovar is another option at outside backer.
Coach William Blaylock says his linebacking corps, coached by former Texas Longhorn Rashad Bobino, has six seniors who could all play college football.
Sam backer Calvin Thomas (6-3, 225) is the headliner. Blaylock describes him as a freaky athlete who runs a 38-second 300-meter hurdles and 48-second 400. Despite earning First Team All-District 16-6A honors with 72 tackles, eight tackles for loss and seven sacks, Blaylock doesn’t think they’ve scratched the surface of how good Thomas can be. This was the first spring football session Blaylock’s staff has had with him.
Blaylock says if Mike linebacker Ayden Combs (6-3, 220), “could play with a cowboy collar and a neck roll, he would.” He’s a downhill thumper who’s stacked up nearly 20 offers after posting 75 tackles, nine tackles for loss and four sacks last season. He was a Third Team Padilla Poll All-State selection last season.
Coach’s son, William Blaylock II (6-3, 220), will start at tight end but is also fighting for the starting Will linebacker spot.
Jonathan “Bam” Long, Gage Rink and Tyler Smith will be key players in the rotation.
5A
The Dillard name looms large in Laredo. Christopher Dillard was a star running back in Martin’s Class of 2024 and signed with Sterling College. His younger brother, Neal, is a two-time Laredo Morning Times All-City selection at linebacker.
While Dillard was the established defensive captain, outside linebacker Frankie Cantu emerged as another star last season as a sophomore, earning District 14-5A DI Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Dillard and Cantu will be the stalwarts of Martin’s 3-4 scheme.
4. Melissa
Two years ago, Melissa was 14 kids away from being a 4A school. Now, they’re approaching 2,100 kids. Head coach Matt Nally said he’s experienced more move-ins this offseason than in the 10 previous years combined.
Senior inside linebacker Landen Jones (6’1, 225) projects to blossom into one of the Cardinals’ most impactful newcomers. Jones was a Padilla Poll Class 5A DII First Team All-State selection as a junior at Marshall with 124 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. He holds an Arkansas State offer.
But Melissa also has returning production to lean on with senior Maximus Corbin (6-2, 210) and junior Owen Willis (6-3, 210). Corbin, the reigning District 4-5A DII Newcomer of the Year, racked up 40 tackles, nine TFLs and two pick-sixes last season.
Other names to know include senior inside linebacker Jaylon Frazier (6-0, 200) and junior Gavin Spann, who transferred this offseason from Blue Ridge. Look for DCTX three-star Payhton Porter (6-4, 195) to split time at edge rusher and outside linebacker.
New coach Bill Robertson has been a defensive coordinator for the past 17 seasons, most recently at Prosper and A&M Consolidated. In three of the last five seasons, his field-side outside linebacker has won the District Defensive MVP award. This season, Texas Tech commit Tieson Ejiawoko (6-4, 225), the No. 53-ranked prospect in the DCTX Hot 100, takes the role. Robertson says he will blitz about 350 times this season and is sure to flash his 4.5 speed.
At inside linebacker, Sam Arnett (6-3, 190) is a hard worker who’s enjoyed a fantastic spring. He earned Second Team All-District 8-5A DI last year.
With a new head coach comes position changes. Junior Jalani Culpepper (5-10, 180), a First Team All-District selection, is moving from the secondary to the boundary outside linebacker position (JACK). Robertson says he has a high football IQ and is a vicious tackler. Senior Aquavious Marbury (5-11, 180) was the district’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year last season in the secondary but should play more outside linebacker in 2025. Marbury is an impressive athlete who runs a 4.5 40-yard dash and power-cleans 300 pounds.
Senior Jason Mehollin provides excellent depth.
2. Argyle
Head coach Todd Rodgers refers to senior outside linebacker Maxwell Bland (6-2, 235) as the most versatile linebacker on the team. Bland can rush off the edge (18 TFLS, five sacks) or shed blocks in the run game (103 tackles). He’s big and explosive - Rodgers says people sleep on his closing speed.
At Mike LB, Brody Bomar (6-3, 230) earned First Team All-District 3-5A DII as a sophomore. His instincts and aggressive tackling led to 124 tackles and 14 tackles for loss.
Rodgers describes senior Will LB Grayson Peschel (6-3, 215) as a blue-collar, snot-slinging, high-effort player, just about all the adjectives you want in a linebacker.
Senior Chase Bagley (6-2, 220) has a chance to be the group’s breakout star. Bagley broke both collarbones last year as a running back but moved to linebacker this spring and flourished. He can play any of the positions in Argyle’s 3-3 stack.
Richmond Randle won its first state championship in program history last year while playing a linebacker short. Senior Mike backer Noriel “Pac-Man” Dominguez (6-3, 230), a TCU commit, was ruled ineligible for 2024 after transferring from Fort Bend Marshall, where he had 92 tackles and four sacks as a sophomore. Despite the disappointment, coach Brian Randle says Dominguez did not miss a single practice and approached every week as if he were playing. Dominguez, who already brings the boom, will have a chip on his shoulder this season.
While Dominguez was the ideal teammate from the sidelines, senior Sam linebacker Ryan Mallory (6-1, 200) earned Class 5A DII State Championship Defensive MVP honors. Mallory flashes the speed of a former running back who transitioned to the defense once DCTX four-star Landen Williams-Callis burst onto the scene. He’s also an excellent open-field tackler.
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