2007 Athlon Awards: Linebackers

1. USC
Oscar Lua entered 2006 as the top returning tackler for the Trojans, but Rey Maualuga took the starting middle linebacker job away from him at the beginning of the season. Maualuga and Keith Rivers, who returns on the weak side, both were first-team All-Pac-10 honorees last season. Rivers led the Trojans with 85 tackles and forced three fumbles. Maualuga finished second with 78 stops, picked off a pass and earned a reputation as a ferocious hitter. Brian Cushing spent last year at end and led the team with 13.5 tackles for loss, but has returned to linebacker, his natural position, and will man the strong side. Thomas Williams, Kaluka Maiava, Clay Matthews and Luthur Brown would be starters just about anywhere else. Chris Galippo of Anaheim is the nation’s top-rated linebacker recruit of 2007.

2. Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech led the nation last year in pass defense, total defense and scoring defense, and came in 11th in rushing defense. The top two tacklers are back for 2007 in linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi. Hall was first-team All-ACC last year after leading the conference with 128 tackles and posting a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss. Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster calls Hall the best linebacker in his 20 years on the job. Adibi teams with Hall in the best linebacker duo of Foster’s tenure, and that’s saying something. Adibi registered 82 tackles and three sacks, forced three fumbles, intercepted three passes and ran back a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown.

3. South Carolina
South Carolina middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley was a first-team All-SEC performer last season and enters 2007 as an All-America candidate. As a junior last year, Brinkley had more than twice as many tackles as any other Gamecock defender. Among his 107 total stops were a team-high 14.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Jasper’s twin brother, Casper, finished second on the team with 13.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with seven sacks as a starting defensive end. He will play the weak-side linebacker position this year. Rodney Paulk was a second-team Freshman All-American last year and returns to his starting job on the strong side.

4. TCU
The Horned Frog linebackers were instrumental in a defense that finished second nationally last year both against the run and overall. In fact, TCU always seems to have more standout linebackers than should be expected from a team that plays a 4-2 defense. Junior Jason Phillips has started all 25 games of his career and has accumulated 144 tackles with 14.5 behind the line. Last fall he finished second on the team with 73 tackles, picked off a pass and made first-team All-Mountain West Conference. Phillips mans the middle with David Hawthorne, also a two-year starter, on the strong side. Though Hawthorne started all 13 games, his backup, Robert Henson, was an honorable mention all-conference choice with 64 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss.

5. LSU
All three starting linebackers return from a 2006 Bayou Bengal defense that finished third nationally in total defense, fourth in scoring defense, 14th against the run and third against the pass. Junior Darry Beckwith in the middle and senior Ali Highsmith at the Buck position notched 65 and 63 tackles, respectively, with a combined 9.5 behind the line and 5.5 sacks. Beckwith also came up with an interception in the Tennessee game. Highsmith, a second-team All-SEC selection, has 159 tackles for his career, 17 for a loss. In the Florida game last year he came up with six solo tackles and a sack, and also forced a fumble. He added five stops against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Against Auburn, weak-side linebacker Luke Sanders did most of the damage, with eight tackles and a sack, and he’s back after starting 11 games in ’06.

Next Up:
6. Oregon State
7. Penn State
8. Hawaii
9. Nebraska
10. Arizona

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