Top Linebacking Corps in Class 4A and 3A for 2025

4A

5. West Orange-Stark

TXHSFB fans can always count on West Orange-Stark to have great linebackers and running backs, and 2025 is no exception.

Junior Sam linebacker Anterrion Fontenot (5-10, 210) earned District 9-4A DII Defensive MVP as a sophomore with 132 tackles, four interceptions and four forced fumbles. Coach Hiawatha Hickman describes him as the team’s alpha, both as a leader and as the most dominant player. 

At Will linebacker, senior Johnathan Johnson (5-11, 210) is coming off a District Defensive Newcomer of the Year performance in which he racked up 71 tackles and three sacks. 

On third downs, look for senior Michael Turner to take over at Will while Johnson bumps down to the line of scrimmage for an added pass rush. Turner has great speed in pass coverage.

4. Stephenville

The Yellowjackets’ defense returns 10 starters in 2025, headlined by senior linebackers Hudson Butchee and Caleb Taylor in the middle of a 4-2-5 scheme.

Will linebacker Butchee (6-2, 220) was a Padilla Poll Class 4A DI First Team All-State selection with 161 tackles and 14 tackles for loss. A quarterback for most of his life, Butchee knows what offenses want to do depending on the down and distance. Coach Sterling Doty says he is football savvy and has the "It factor." 

Mike linebacker Taylor (6-2, 230) was a First Team All-District 4-4A DI selection with 148 tackles. He is primarily a physical, downhill defender, but does have the athletic ability to wreak havoc in zone coverage.

Sophomore Carter VanZandt (6-0, 200) is a high-ceiling prospect who the coaches can tell has been in the weight room over the offseason. 

Many times, the strong safety lines up at outside backer in Stephenville’s scheme. Senior Brighton DeVivo (6-0, 200) has excelled there the last two seasons. But coaches hope last year’s backup, Cooper Rudd, can take more snaps at the position while DeVivo starts at slot wide receiver.

3. Silsbee

Coach Randy Smith says six of his best football players all play linebacker. The only problem is that he’ll have to figure out how to get them all on the field at the same time.

Senior Matsyn Morris (5-8, 175) is a sawed-off shotgun at inside linebacker with 167 tackles last season. He was a finalist for the Willie Ray Smith Award for outstanding football achievement in southeast Texas. Morris gets everyone in Silsbee’s 3-4 scheme lined up. His younger brother Haegyn (5-11, 195) had 47 tackles last year as a freshman.

Coach Smith recruited senior Kyler Smith (no relation) from the school hallway to the football team, and he earned First Team All-District 9-4A DII in his first season back as a junior. The 6-4, 225-pound rush end has had a tremendous offseason.

At the other outside linebacker spot, senior Levin Powell (6-0, 220) is hungry after missing most of last season due to injury. Smith said he could sense a difference in his defense when Powell returned to the lineup for the second-to-last game of the regular season. He is one of the team leaders because Silsbee is in his family’s blood. His grandfather was a coach, his mother coaches at the middle school and his brother played football at Lamar and Garnder-Webb.

Senior Kevin Eaglin and sophomore Jaden Hicks, who had 41 tackles as a freshman, should see plenty of action, as well.

2. Alvarado

Alvarado may have lost Class 4A Quarterback of the Year Cardea Collier, but head coach Casey Walraven is confident his defense can ease an offensive transition early in the year.

Senior Mike linebacker Logan Woolard (6-1, 185) was the District 6-4A DI Defensive MVP last season with 148 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and five sacks. Walraven says he has an old-school linebacker’s mentality that permeates through the rest of the team.

On the outside, senior DJ Clampitt (6-0, 180) was a First Team All-District selection with 138 tackles, 14 sacks and four fumble recoveries. He brings an added pass rush from the second level with a lot of speed.

The coaches moved Jorden Wright (6-3, 200) from defensive end to linebacker last year, and he responded with 105 tackles and five sacks in a First-Team All-District performance. Walraven says he has the physical makeup of a Division I linebacker and could take a significant step forward in 2025. 

The coaches moved senior Schyler Dethorne (6-0, 174) from strong safety to linebacker this offseason. Dethorne has an offer to Southeastern Oklahoma State and could thrive playing in the box. 

1. Carthage

Carthage’s defense returns two First Team All-State linebackers in the Padilla Poll for Class 4A DII.

New Texas A&M commit DaQuives Beck (6-2, 215) earned Defensive MVP in the state championship win over Waco La Vega with 10 tackles, 3.5 of which came for loss, and a sack. Coach Scott Surratt says Beck will switch from outside linebacker to inside linebacker in Carthage’s 3-4 scheme to make up for the loss of Klayton Ingram (Murray State). 

On the outside, Carson Crawford (6-3, 210) will be the Bulldogs’ best pass rusher. Crawford started two years ago as a safety but broke out in 2024 as an outside linebacker with 91 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, nine sacks and four forced fumbles. He holds double-digit offers.

Senior Jax Thomas missed last season with a knee injury but should be a contributor in 2025.

3A

5. Malakoff

Yes, we know Malakoff lost Parker Poteete, but TXHSFB fans should have faith in Malakoff’s coaching staff to again produce one of the top five units in the state.

It starts with senior outside linebacker Davion Johnson (5-7, 160). The Second Team All-District 7-3A DI selection used his 4.6 speed to track down opposing players for 48 total tackles. He pairs well with fellow senior outside linebacker Weston Jedlicka (6-0, 180), who is a more of a run-first player.

The staff is excited about junior middle linebacker Rylan Smith (6-1, 170), who could be in for a breakout season after missing all of last season due to injury. He’s tough as nails and long. The Tigers look to him to make all the defensive calls.

Look for Keller Whitlow to be the primary backup at all positions.

4. Columbus

Even with the loss of John Schobel to TCU, linebacker should be a strength for Columbus.

There’s no substitute for experience; just ask First Team All-District 12-3A DI selections Rylan Carruthers (6-2, 200) and Brody Vinklarek (6-1, 195), who’ve each started the past two years. Coach Matt Schobel refers to both as “program guys” who are the defensive leaders. Carruthers had 165 tackles and 14 tackles for loss last season, while Vinklarek had 171 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and four sacks. 

While Carruthers and Vinklarek are the proven options, the staff is excited about senior Brody Tribe and sophomore Aiden Glueck after strong offseasons. Tribe’s 6-3, 200-pound frame and explosive athleticism gives him high upside, while Glueck has challenged for a starting role.

3. Jim Ned

Aiden Ellis earned District 3-3A DI Overall MVP last year, rushing for 1,460 yards on offense and playing outside linebacker. The craziest part is that head coach Johnathon McClure doesn’t believe Ellis was ever 100% after tearing his ACL the previous year and missing the entire offseason. Ellis is a three-year starter at outside linebacker who’s more solid (5-11, 180) than people realize, with the physicality to stone the offense’s pulling guards and then run laterally with running backs. 

Fellow outside backer Stone Griffon (5-9, 175) went from a preseason question mark due to size to postseason First Team All-District with 98 tackles and 23 tackles for loss. Opposing teams tried to test him by running away from 6-foot-7 defensive end Carter Lange and toward Griffon, but Griffon proved slippery in open space and difficult to block.

On the inside, McClure calls senior Mason Miller (5-10, 190) “strong as an ox and mean as they come.” A classic ranch kid, Miller suffered a lower leg fracture in the playoffs against Paradise and finished the game. The First Team All-District selection racked up 87 tackles to go with12 tackles for loss. 

Senior Cash Gwinn (6-1, 185) and junior Tucker Deal (5-9, 180) are battling for the quarterback spot, but both should see time at linebacker, as well. Gwinn had a strip sack in last year’s playoffs, while Deal played 100% of the snaps on JV. 

Seniors Nick Wright and Jaxon Hutt are both competing for the Will linebacker job after impressive offseasons in which they added muscle mass.

2. Jefferson

Jefferson is transitioning from a 4-3 front to a 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Jose Morales, who comes over from Mount Pleasant. The good news for a formation that requires more linebackers is that the group is the strength of Jefferson’s team.

It starts with junior Mike linebacker Kobin Tomlinson, whom head coach Ty Taylor refers to as the heart and soul of Jefferson’s team. He’s a third-generation Jefferson Bulldog - his grandfather played at Stephen F. Austin and his father was on the state championship team. Kobin made his own name last season with a school-record 134 tackles, earning District 8-3A DI Unanimous Defensive MVP. Senior Will linebacker Del Brown (5-10, 177) is the second part of Jefferson’s dynamic duo in the middle of the defense. He earned District Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

Fisher Bradley (6-2, 185), a move-in from Mason, could be the breakout star. Bradley is a rangy player who brings Mason toughness to the field outside linebacker position. Taylor says the team already looks to him as a leader despite Bradley only being there a month and a half. Junior Kaden Parish (6-0, 182) has come into his own over the offseason at boundary linebacker, and the coaches expect him to take a big step in 2025.

1. Paradise

Tommy Koch was elevated to Paradise’s head coach after serving the previous six years as the defensive coordinator. He says the linebacking crew is the team’s strength.

Senior Mike linebacker Teagan Lambert (6-2, 170) is another coach on the field, making all the defensive calls pre-snap. Koch says he overloads Lambert with information during the week so he can play fast on Friday nights, which showed in his Padilla Poll Second Team All-State Class 3A DI performance. Lambert finished with 125 tackles and 10 sacks. Paradise likes to bring him up to the line of scrimmage and find a one-on-one matchup for him to rush the passer on third down.

Senior outside linebacker Cash Watson (5-7, 155) will most likely play college baseball, but in the meantime, he’s a nightmare for high school football running backs. Watson flies around the field like a heat-seeking missile aiming exclusively below the kneecaps. He earned First Team All District 4-3A DI. 

Senior Miles Godwin (6-0, 190) is the most versatile linebacker of the group, rotating from outside linebacker to inside linebacker and even lining up as a nine-technique outside the tight end on the line of scrimmage. He was the leading tackler with 128 stops and earned First Team All-District. 

Senior running back Luke Brown (6-0, 185) was a Second Team All-State selection last season on the offensive side but should also see time at outside linebacker this season. Koch says his speed is unmatched. Look for fellow running back Chase Harmon to also see time on defense.