TOP 2026 LINEBACKER RECRUITS
College Football Now top 2026 linebacker recruits features rising class of 2026 top OLB & ILB recruits football recruiting profiles!
Updated October 2nd, 2025 at 9:24 a.m. EST
Updated October 2nd, 2025 at 9:24 a.m. EST
TOP 2026 LB RECRUITS
College Football Now top 2026 LB recruits scouting & football recruiting profiles can be found below & on Scout Trout Elite!
2026 SOUTH ALABAMA LB COMMIT XAVIOUS ANDERSON
Scouting notes - Xavious Anderson is a complete, high-IQ linebacker who blends fast play-diagnosis with physical finishing ability. He’s the kind of recruit who upgrades every phase he touches: run fits are cleaner, third-down coverage is steadier, and special teams get a reliable tackler. Anderson’s instincts and competitive toughness are his calling cards — he consistently makes the right read, attacks the ball, and finishes with intent. With continued strength and refinement in a few technical areas, he projects to be an every-down starter at the FBS level and has long-term upside as a multi-down defender. Xavious Anderson is a polished, instinctive linebacker who earned 27 D-I offers for good reason. He combines smart play recognition with physical finishing and leadership. At South Alabama he should be an immediate difference-maker on special teams and a future every-down starter. With focused strength and technique development, he carries the profile of a long-term impact defender at the FBS level and the upside to draw late-round NFL interest down the line.
COMBINE STATS
40 yard dash - 4.75
Bench press - 185x40, 315 MAX
Squat - 395
Deadlift - 325
Clean - 205
CFB offers - South Alabama, Buffalo, Jacksonville State, Air Force, Appalachian State, Army, Austin Peay, Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Colorado State, Cornell, Dartmouth, East Carolina, Fordham, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Navy, Penn, Samford, Tennessee Tech, UConn, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky & Wofford
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40 yard dash - 4.75
Bench press - 185x40, 315 MAX
Squat - 395
Deadlift - 325
Clean - 205
CFB offers - South Alabama, Buffalo, Jacksonville State, Air Force, Appalachian State, Army, Austin Peay, Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Colorado State, Cornell, Dartmouth, East Carolina, Fordham, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Navy, Penn, Samford, Tennessee Tech, UConn, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky & Wofford
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2026 USC LB COMMIT TALANOA ILI
LB Talanoa Ili
Kahuka HS
(HI)
6'4",220
TOP 2026 LB RECRUIT
Scouting notes - Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili was added to the College Football Now 2026 Top Football Recruit Rankings, as he was identified early as one of the top playmakers on the defensive side of the football nationally. Since then, Talanoa has earned an early offer from the University of California and he will look to solidify himself as a potential 2026 All-American linebacker recruit this season at Orange Lutheran HS in California. Talanoa can be witnessed causing mayhem coming off the edge in his 8th grade season highlights and he possesses the lateral agility to cover from sideline to sideline. Ili is able to quickly collapse the opposing teams pocket using highly active hands to detach quickly from opposing blockers and possesses an extremely high motor to be able to track ball carriers down from the backside. Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili will rank highly on the College Football Today RokFin 2026 Top Football Recruit Rankings and we are eager to watch him take to the field during his freshman season campaign in California.
40 yard dash - 4.74
5-10-5 shuttle - 4.44
Vertical leap - 29"
Bench press - 225
Power clean - 195
Squat - 315
Dead-lift - 275
CFB offers - Michigan, Alabama, UCLA, Florida, Kansas, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Utah, Washington, California, USC, Michigan State, Arizona, Stanford, Tennessee, San Diego State & Northern Arizona
Follow Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili on X!
Kahuka HS
(HI)
6'4",220
TOP 2026 LB RECRUIT
Scouting notes - Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili was added to the College Football Now 2026 Top Football Recruit Rankings, as he was identified early as one of the top playmakers on the defensive side of the football nationally. Since then, Talanoa has earned an early offer from the University of California and he will look to solidify himself as a potential 2026 All-American linebacker recruit this season at Orange Lutheran HS in California. Talanoa can be witnessed causing mayhem coming off the edge in his 8th grade season highlights and he possesses the lateral agility to cover from sideline to sideline. Ili is able to quickly collapse the opposing teams pocket using highly active hands to detach quickly from opposing blockers and possesses an extremely high motor to be able to track ball carriers down from the backside. Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili will rank highly on the College Football Today RokFin 2026 Top Football Recruit Rankings and we are eager to watch him take to the field during his freshman season campaign in California.
40 yard dash - 4.74
5-10-5 shuttle - 4.44
Vertical leap - 29"
Bench press - 225
Power clean - 195
Squat - 315
Dead-lift - 275
CFB offers - Michigan, Alabama, UCLA, Florida, Kansas, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Utah, Washington, California, USC, Michigan State, Arizona, Stanford, Tennessee, San Diego State & Northern Arizona
Follow Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili on X!
2026 CAL LB COMMIT JAXON PYATT
LB Jaxon Pyatt
Arvada West HS
(CO)
6'1",215
GPA - 4.0
2026 TOP LB RECRUIT
Scouting notes - Top 2026 football recruit Jaxon Pyatt could potentially become the highest recruited high school football player in the history of the state of Colorado, as he is way ahead of the curve in respects to molding himself into becoming a ferocious and highly adept athletic freak at the linebacker position. As a only a freshman, Pyatt is capable of completely taking over a game with the physicality he exhibits coming off the edge and possesses the agility, speed and high motor to cover a vast amount of territory when tracking ball carriers down from sideline to sideline. Jaxon also demonstrates the ability to quickly sink into hook/curl cover and undercut passes to make game-changing interceptions, as he makes very smooth transitions when flipping his hips while keeping his eyes on the plays development. He is very instinctive when reading his keys and is able to shoot quickly past opposing blockers into the backfield to bring ball carriers tenaciously to the turf, as he is one of more sure tacklers that I have evaluated at this juncture in the recruitment process. New Top 2026 LB recruit Jaxon Pyatt has been added to the 2026 Top 150+ Football Recruit Rankings and will be rising rapidly up college football recruiting boards nationally with the tremendous body of work he has been able to put together in his young career.
40 yard dash - 4.6
Bench press - 320
Deadlift - 650
CFB offers - California, Bowling Green, Boston College, UNC-Charlotte, Toledo, Colorado State, UConn, Kansas State, Sacramento State, Ole Miss & Syracuse
CFB programs showing interest - Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame & Rutgers
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Arvada West HS
(CO)
6'1",215
GPA - 4.0
2026 TOP LB RECRUIT
Scouting notes - Top 2026 football recruit Jaxon Pyatt could potentially become the highest recruited high school football player in the history of the state of Colorado, as he is way ahead of the curve in respects to molding himself into becoming a ferocious and highly adept athletic freak at the linebacker position. As a only a freshman, Pyatt is capable of completely taking over a game with the physicality he exhibits coming off the edge and possesses the agility, speed and high motor to cover a vast amount of territory when tracking ball carriers down from sideline to sideline. Jaxon also demonstrates the ability to quickly sink into hook/curl cover and undercut passes to make game-changing interceptions, as he makes very smooth transitions when flipping his hips while keeping his eyes on the plays development. He is very instinctive when reading his keys and is able to shoot quickly past opposing blockers into the backfield to bring ball carriers tenaciously to the turf, as he is one of more sure tacklers that I have evaluated at this juncture in the recruitment process. New Top 2026 LB recruit Jaxon Pyatt has been added to the 2026 Top 150+ Football Recruit Rankings and will be rising rapidly up college football recruiting boards nationally with the tremendous body of work he has been able to put together in his young career.
40 yard dash - 4.6
Bench press - 320
Deadlift - 650
CFB offers - California, Bowling Green, Boston College, UNC-Charlotte, Toledo, Colorado State, UConn, Kansas State, Sacramento State, Ole Miss & Syracuse
CFB programs showing interest - Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame & Rutgers
Follow Top 2026 LB Jaxon Pyatt on X!
TOP 2026 LB RECRUIT TRENTIN MAUPIN
LB Trentin Maupin
Plainville HS
(KS)
5'10", 210
GPA - 4.0
2026 TOP LB RECRUIT
Scouting notes - Top 2026 LB recruit Trentin Maupin is a hard hitting linebacker out of Plainville HS in Kansas who demonstrates superior athleticism as well as stout run stuffing & sure tackling capabilities. Maupin has extremely impressive combine and weight room numbers which can be attributed to his tenacious work ethic & will to better himself daily on & off the field of play. He has proven to be highly effective at shedding blocks before hog tying ball carriers to bring them abruptly to the turf when exploding into running lanes. Maupin also possesses a very impressive 4.0 GPA and will be a prospect coming out of the midwest region to watch during his junior campaign as he potentially could be a diamond in the rough at the inside or outside linebacker position.
40 yard dash - 4.6
Bench press - 325 (MAX), 185 x 25
Squat - 450
Power clean - 285
Vertical - 28"
400M dash - 53.25
Plainville HS
(KS)
5'10", 210
GPA - 4.0
2026 TOP LB RECRUIT
Scouting notes - Top 2026 LB recruit Trentin Maupin is a hard hitting linebacker out of Plainville HS in Kansas who demonstrates superior athleticism as well as stout run stuffing & sure tackling capabilities. Maupin has extremely impressive combine and weight room numbers which can be attributed to his tenacious work ethic & will to better himself daily on & off the field of play. He has proven to be highly effective at shedding blocks before hog tying ball carriers to bring them abruptly to the turf when exploding into running lanes. Maupin also possesses a very impressive 4.0 GPA and will be a prospect coming out of the midwest region to watch during his junior campaign as he potentially could be a diamond in the rough at the inside or outside linebacker position.
40 yard dash - 4.6
Bench press - 325 (MAX), 185 x 25
Squat - 450
Power clean - 285
Vertical - 28"
400M dash - 53.25
TOP 2026 LB RECRUIT RANKINGS
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