Bruce Feldman: Top 10 LB corps in the country

1. Alabama:
The Gumps lost SEC Defensive Player of the Year Reggie Ragland, but still have an eye-catching collection of linebackers. Let's start with pass-rushing terror Tim Williams, who produced 10.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for losses (TFLs) in limited snaps. Coaches at Bama rave about how instinctive the 6-3, 245-pound Williams is. He's both explosive and strong but also has a great feel for time and space, the way Charles Haley did. The question for Williams in 2016 is how well can he play the run? With Reuben Foster, a 6-1, 240-pound senior, that's no issue. He was second on the team last year with 73 tackles and also had eight TFLs. Foster lights people up in the run game. He's also a leader of the defense and brings plenty of juice to this defense. Ryan Anderson is the other outside linebacker and he's bigger than a lot of D-linemen at 6-2, 258. He had 11.5 TFLs and six sacks last season. Shaun Dion Hamilton started five games last season and he's also back. Rashaan Evans, Christian Miller, Anfernee Jennings, a 270-pound guy who gave the O-line fits last year, would probably start at a bunch of other SEC programs and are pushing for more snaps in Tuscaloosa.

2. Michigan State

3. Louisville

4. Wisconsin
Joe Schobert who made 19.5 TFLs and forced five fumbles last season, has moved on to the NFL, but senior Vince Biegel is still here and he's terrific. He had 14 TFLs and eight sacks to go with 66 tackles. Pro Football Focus ranks Biegel as the nation's top returning outside linebacker, grading him No. 1 both against the run and as a pass rusher. But it wasn't Biegel or Schobert who led the nation's No. 1 scoring defense (13.7 ppg) in tackles in 2015. That was T.J Edwards who also is back after making 84 tackles as a redshirt freshman last year. Jack Cichy, who had 8.5 TFLs and shined in the bowl game by making sacks on three consecutive plays against USC, is battling Chris Orr (46 tackles) to be the other starting ILB next to Edwards. J.J. Watt's brother, T.J., a 6-5, 242-pound sophomore former tight end, is being tabbed to fill in for the departed Schobert. The other big loss for UW is defensive coordinator Dave Aranda who left for LSU. Justin Wilcox comes from USC to take over the D and he does have plenty to work with here but the schedule it brutal in the first two months.

5. Washington

6. Tennessee
New defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has produced terrific defenses at Penn State and Vanderbilt the past five years, and he inherits a pretty athletic group of linebackers led by Jalen Reeves Maybin, who has piled up 206 tackles in the past two seasons. Reeves-Maybin isn't huge at 6-0, 230 but he runs in the 4.6s and plays even faster than that because he diagnoses things so quickly. He's also a real leader. The name to remember here though is Darrin Kirkland Jr. He started 10 games last year at middle linebacker as a true freshman, but he's primed for a breakout season in 2016. The 6-1, 235-pounder with 4.5 speed had Shoop very excited when I visited UT in spring. "His football IQ is off the charts," said Shoop. "He runs well. He just gets it. He's only a true sophomore. When it's all said and done for him, we'll be talking about him on a short list of players here at Tennessee." Another young LB on the rise is sophomore Quart'e Sapp, who also can really run. The UT staff was impressed with how he came on over the last two-thirds of spring becoming much more physical. Former walk-on Colton Jumper Cortez McDowell and Kenny Bynum also will push for playing time.


7. Vanderbilt
The Commodores have really struggled since Derek Mason took over the program, but he did get the defense playing well again in 2015, when it finished No. 28 in total defense and was No. 6 in third-down defense. A big reason for that toughness is an excellent group of linebackers. Zach Cunningham is probably the best-kept secret in the SEC. The 6-4, 230-pounder made 103 tackles last season to go with 16.5 TFLs and four forced fumbles. Oren Burks, another rangy guy at 6-3, was a two-year starter at safety before moving into the SAM linebacker spot. He had 58 tackles, three INTs and six pass break-ups in 2015. Landon Stokes, at 6-4, 240, started the last five games at OLB. Another name to remember is Nigel Bowden, who was a 2014 SEC All-Freshman selection when he became the first freshman to lead Vandy in tackles since LB Jamie Winborn did so in 1998. The 6-1, 240-pounder missed most of last season with concussion symptoms but Mason said he's 100 percent recovered.

8. Arizona St.

9. Penn St.

10. UCLA (Tie)

10. Kansas St (Tie)

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