Top 2025 LB Seasons

Why #1

Name sounds familiar to Highlands Ranch football people? It should. Older brother Vann was the 5A South Metro MVP at Rock Canyon before heading to CSU as a running back. Levi chose violence instead of the ball-carrying gene.

112 tackles, 7 sacks (tied for the state lead among LBs), and 6 total turnovers created from an OLB on a team that went 4-6. Rock Canyon was getting outscored in league play and Schield was still averaging 11.2 tackles a game like a man trying to single-handedly drag his team to .500 through sheer will. 75 of his 112 tackles were solo (67%), meaning two-thirds of the time he was finding the ball carrier on his own. 3 fumble recoveries tells you he's always around chaos. 2 forced fumbles tells you he's causing it.

The fact that he produced these numbers on a losing team is the most impressive part. There's nowhere to hide when you're losing. Schield just kept showing up. We wrote "somebody's missing something" in our first draft, then found his November tweet: CSU Pueblo offer after a visit. AGTG indeed. At 6'2" 200 with this stat line, don't be surprised if more follow.

Why #2

Four forced fumbles. Three fumble recoveries. Seven total turnovers, none of them interceptions. Every single one came from hitting people so hard the ball came out and then being in the right place to fall on it. Dude has violent ball skills.

Sanchez and teammate Jaxon Pyatt (#16) gave Arvada West two legitimate LBs in the same front. The Wildcats made the 5A playoffs and beat Grandview before falling to Mountain Vista. 6.0 sacks rank 5th among all qualifying LBs. At 6'0" 210, he's got the frame and the production that should translate. Adams State was the first to figure it out, offering Sanchez back in July after a call with Coach Kyser. First offer. At the rate he created turnovers this fall, it probably shouldn't be the last.

If Schield is the best overall statistical profile, Sanchez is the best chaos agent. Ball's coming out when this kid shows up. Period.

Why #3

157 tackles. State leader. On a team that went 14-0 and won the 5A state championship. Let that marinate.

You know what's hard to do? Lead the entire state in tackles while playing for Cherry Creek, a program so deep they rotate guys like an NBA bench. The Bruins beat a nationally-ranked Skyridge team from Utah, survived Valor Christian trailing in the fourth quarter of the semis, then blasted Ralston Valley 56-28 in the title game at Canvas Stadium. Matthews was there for all of it. Sacked Ralston Valley's QB on the final play of the first quarter. Recovered a fumble on the literal last play of the Valor semifinal after Creek sent both OLBs on a blitz. Threw in a pick-six against Skyridge. Just because he could.

The 35% solo rate is low, but Cherry Creek's defense is a swarm. Everyone's around the ball because Dave Logan coaches it that way. Four-year varsity guy. State champion. The argument for #1 is legitimate. We just weighted sack production higher. Nobody should be mad about that, least of all Matthews, who's polishing a ring.

Why #4

2025 Denver Post Gold Helmet Award winner. Air Force commit. 5.02 weighted GPA. Co-founded his school's UNICEF chapter. Youth flag football coach. Placed 2nd at the 5A state track meet in the 300m hurdles. Has a twin brother. Also got kicked off a JV scrimmage field as a sophomore because the camp directors at CSU Pueblo decided he was too physical for the other teams. His coach told the Denver Post they "said it just wasn't safe."

250 career tackles. 7 sacks this season (tied state lead among LBs). 15 TFL. 3 INTs. All-Colorado selection. First DPS player to win the Gold Helmet since Marcus Houston.

The gap between his score (63.6) and Matthews (63.7) is a rounding error. He showed up brand new to the sport as a freshman with zero youth football background, and four years later he won the Gold Helmet. That's not a stat line. That's a movie script.

Why #5

"Last year, it was just being on the side of my brother Carson Hageman. He was the best linebacker. I just learned everything from him and then this year, I get to execute by myself."

That quote came after he singlehandedly dismantled Broomfield (then #1 in 4A) with a 49-yard receiving catch, a sack, and a 30-yard pick-six. Same game. From a linebacker. He also caught 12 passes for 258 yards and 2 TDs on the season because linebackers catching deep balls is apparently what the Hageman family does.

Brother Carson was a 247Sports-rated LB and back-to-back Times-Call Defensive Player of the Year. Lincoln signed with Northern Colorado in the early signing period, which feels like a steal. 123 tackles, 17 TFL (5th in the state), double-digit per game, and he can line up on offense if you need him. The Hageman Pipeline at Erie is real. Somebody check if there's a younger one coming.

Why #6

21 TFL. State leader among linebackers. Not second. Not tied for first. First, outright, by two.

Buena Vista went 12-1, beat Limon during the regular season for the first time in program history, and made the 1A championship game before losing to those same Badgers 14-10 at CSU Pueblo. Coach Flavin told the local paper that defense was "by far the biggest highlight" after the regular-season Limon win. He didn't name Flowers. He didn't need to.

113 tackles. 21 TFL. 4 interceptions from a middle linebacker. At 1A, where the run game IS the offense, getting behind the line 21 times means you're diagnosing plays faster than the opposing QB. The 4 picks are absurd for a LB. That's coverage instinct you don't teach. The Flowers family has stocked the BV roster for years (brother Elijah, cousin Tam). Abel's the one who put the defense on his back for a title-game run. He also punts for the Demons, because small-school football is beautiful like that.

Why #7

Let's address the elephant: 54 tackles from a top-10 linebacker looks thin. We know. Chase Richie does not care, because he was too busy creating 7 turnovers and living in the opposing backfield.

15 TFL. 5.5 sacks. 4 forced fumbles (tied state lead). 2 fumble recoveries. 1 INT. 3 PD. He's essentially playing DE from a standup position, which means his "tackles" metric is misleading. He's not flowing sideline to sideline making arm tackles; he's blowing up plays at the point of attack and creating chaos.

Per-game disruption: 1.5 TFL, 0.55 sacks, 0.7 turnovers created. That's a havoc rate most college edge rushers would envy. And he's a junior. Castle View returns him next year. Offensive coordinators in the 5A South Metro have approximately 8 months to figure out how to account for him. Good luck.

Why #8

A sophomore. With 6.5 sacks. And 4 forced fumbles. At Grand Junction.

The Tigers went 9-3 and made the 4A second round, and the fact that a 10th grader was their most disruptive defensive player tells you everything about where this program is headed. Titan Williams (and yes, that is his actual name, which is either the greatest coincidence or the greatest act of parental foresight in Colorado football naming history) is 205 pounds as a sophomore with two more years to add weight and terrorize the Western Slope.

67% solo rate. 4 forced fumbles tied for the state lead. 6.5 sacks rank 4th among all qualifying LBs, and he's younger than half the JV huddle at most 5A schools. If he adds 20 pounds and keeps this trajectory, we're talking consensus top-3 LB as a senior. Bookmark this one. Come back in 2027.

Why #9

The Chase family doesn't do football casually. Wyatt was captain and standout LB/RB at Highland. Dad Matt was the assistant coach. Twin sophomore sisters Vivi and Lucy were the team's kickers. Dad played at Wyoming on a football scholarship. Mom played soccer at Wyoming on a scholarship. They met rehabbing injuries in the athletic facility. Matt jokes they met in "rehab." Christine doesn't find it funny. We do.

130 tackles in 10 games is 13.0 per game, 2nd in the state. 18 TFL ranks 3rd among all LBs. At 5'10" 210, he's a bowling ball with a motor. The zero interceptions and zero forced fumbles is the only thing keeping him out of the top 5. The disruption is there (18 TFL!), the volume is absurd (13 per game!), but the turnover production just isn't. Oh, and he's a state title contender in wrestling this winter. Because the Chase family gene pool doesn't produce people who sit still.

Why #10

135 tackles. Second in the state behind only Matthews. At Pine Creek against legitimate 4A competition, game after game, for 13 straight weeks.

The 25% solo tackle rate is the lowest in the top 10 by a wide margin. 101 of 135 were assists. That's a lot of cleanup. But Pine Creek's defense was built to funnel everything to Ibarra's zone. When you're the guy the scheme is designed around, you're going to get a lot of "I was there too" credit. The 5.0 sacks validate that he's generating his own pressure, not just arriving after someone else started it. 10.4 tackles per game over 13 games is pure consistency. You don't accidentally stumble into 135 tackles. At 6'1" 220, he's got college size already.

Why #11

Six interceptions. STATE LEADER. From a linebacker.

Add 3 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery and you're looking at 10 total turnovers created. Most of any player on this list regardless of ranking. 10 turnovers in 10 games. One per game. From a linebacker.

The tackle total (81) is the lowest among the top 11, and the 8 TFL doesn't jump off the page. But if we were picking one player from this list to personally guarantee a defensive turnover in a must-win game, it's Souders and it's not close. The guy is a ball magnet. Fort Collins doesn't make its playoff run without him creating chaos on a weekly basis.

Why #12

122 tackles. 82 solo. 67% solo rate. At 5'10" 180. Cherokee Trail's defense was basically Nico Mavromat in a trench coat pretending to be an entire unit.

11.1 tackles per game (double digits as a junior) and two-thirds of them he made by himself. That solo rate means he's reading the play, getting to the ball carrier, and finishing without help. At 180 pounds, he's doing it with technique and instincts, not brute force. And he's a junior. If he comes back at 195-200 with the same motor, the top 5 is wide open.

Why #13

19 TFL and 4 forced fumbles from a 6'3" 170-pound linebacker. How is a kid built like a wide receiver getting behind the line 19 times and stripping the ball 4 times? He shouldn't be winning physical battles at that weight. He's winning mental ones: anticipation, angles, timing.

65 tackles is the tradeoff. He's not a volume tackler. He's a surgical striker. 19 TFL means nearly a third of his total tackles happened behind the line of scrimmage. Most LBs are happy at 10%. Clark is at 29%. At 6'3", if he puts on 30 pounds, that frame is legitimately intriguing.

Why #14

State leader in tackles per game. 4 INTs. 4 forced fumbles. Leads his team in tackles, receiving yards, AND total touchdowns. Played through a broken foot. At 155 pounds.

He's the backbone of Colorado Springs Christian on both sides of the ball, and when he went down with a concussion in the first-round playoff loss to Monte Vista, his coach told the Gazette "you could tell when he went out, people were dejected." The Lions lost 21-0 after being in the game at halftime. An O-lineman broke his thumb in that game. Another tore a bicep. Their starting RB had already torn an ACL before the season.

Orawiec knelt on the turf and prayed after the loss. That detail matters more than any stat on this page. 13.4 tackles per game is the highest rate on this entire list. 8 total turnovers is second only to Souders' 10. Different archetype than everyone else here. Not a pass rusher. Just a 155-pound ball magnet who refuses to stop moving until the whistle blows.

Why #15

104 tackles in 9 games. 11.6 per game, top-5 in the state. 58% solo rate, 11 TFL, 2.5 sacks. No one stat screams "elite," but nothing's missing either. That's the profile of a true middle linebacker: show up, make the tackle, get back in the huddle, do it again. Eleven times a game. For nine straight weeks. Not flashy. Not a highlight reel guy. Just consistent, relentless production from the QB of the defense.

Why #16

The other half of the Arvada West LB duo with Kevin Sanchez (#2). When your MLB puts up 110 tackles and 4 sacks next to a running mate who has 111 tackles and 6 sacks, that's a defensive coordinator's dream. Pyatt was the anchor while Sanchez was the chaos agent, and together they gave the Wildcats one of the more productive LB tandems in 5A.

At 6'2" 225, he's the biggest linebacker in the top 20. That frame paired with 4.0 sacks says he can hold the point of attack AND rush the passer. Not the flashiest guy on the field (that was Sanchez's job), but the one who made sure nothing got through the middle.

Why #17

Not sure what it is lately with the kicker/LB crew. Is there some LB club that's like "No one covers the kicker on KO, free full field sprint at a small kick returner, ok in for that." 101 tackles and 15 TFL in 9 games from a 5'9" 155-pound junior. Not a typo. 155 pounds. With 15 tackles for loss. We're not entirely sure how a kid who weighs less than most running backs is getting into the backfield 15 times, but Cooper is doing it at Pueblo East and nobody's figured out how to stop it. 11.2 tackles per game is elite, and the 15 TFL ranks T-6th among all qualifying LBs.

As a junior, if he adds 15-20 pounds without losing the speed that makes him a TFL machine, the top 10 is in play. Pueblo football doesn't get enough attention. Cooper is one reason it should.

Why #18

77% solo tackle rate. Highest on this list. When Rueschhoff makes a tackle, he's making it alone. 58 out of 75 unassisted. That's a guy who reads the play, gets to the spot, and finishes. No help needed. 12 TFL and 3 sacks add disruption. 3 fumble recoveries. The tackle volume is lower than the guys above him, which is why the formula puts him at 18. But that solo percentage is genuinely remarkable. As a junior, the instincts are already there. The volume should climb.

Why #19

7 sacks. Tied for the state lead among linebackers. From North Fork. We don't have his height and weight because apparently nobody bothered to record it, which feels appropriate for a kid from Hotchkiss who's quietly co-leading the state in sacks from a middle linebacker position.

North Fork is 1A, where most teams run the ball 80% of the time. Those 7 sacks came on probably 50-60 total pass plays. Think about that rate for a second. 74 tackles and 10 TFL are solid floor numbers. The 7 sacks from a 1A MLB are the story. That's a kid getting to the QB on sheer athletic ability.

Why #20

117 tackles (9th in the state). 78 solo. 67% solo rate. 10.6 per game. CHSAA All-State. Plays both ways (WR/LB). What keeps him at #20: 0.5 sacks in 11 games is essentially zero pass rush. But the coverage numbers (2 INTs, 3 PD) and the tackle volume suggest a rover who happens to make 10+ tackles a game. At 6'3", his length in coverage is a real asset.

Returns next year as a senior with 117 tackles on the resume. If the sacks climb even slightly, we're talking top-5 candidate in 2026.

Why #21

131 tackles. Third in the entire state. Only Matthews (157) and Ibarra (135) had more. At 5'10" 172, Gonsalves is doing it on technique, motor, and instinct. 7 TFL and 1 sack is where the formula dings him. He's making tackles at or past the line, not behind it. But 131 tackles at 172 pounds is a kid who was in on nearly every snap for 12 games and simply refused to let ballcarriers get past him. Dude literally will chase guys down from 20 yards away. One part anger, one part determination, one part hammer.

Why #22

123 tackles, 5th in the state. 11.2 per game, tied with Schield and Matthews. From Rocky Mountain against legitimate 5A Front Range competition every week. The issue: 6 TFL and 2 sacks in 11 games. He's making tackles, but at or past the line of scrimmage, not behind it. There's a difference between tackling a RB 3 yards into the secondary and 2 yards behind the LOS. Both count as tackles. Only one changes the play. That said, 123 tackles is 123 tackles. He was everywhere for the Lobos.

Why #23

5 passes defended is the highest mark on this list for a LB. Combined with 2 INTs, that's 7 coverage plays. Rich is essentially a safety who lines up at LB for Valor Christian. At 6'3" 220, that coverage ability in a linebacker frame is the kind of thing college DCs perk up for. Valor went 11-2, made the 5A semis, and had Cherry Creek on the ropes in Q4 before the Bruins escaped 21-13. Rich played all 13 games of a deep playoff run for one of the state's bluebloods.

Why #24

Dude can do just about anything. But usually whatever he chooses involves violence. Just watch him in a wrestling mat. 69% solo rate. 11 TFL. On a Pomona team that won the 3A state championship on a last-second field goal against Windsor. 95 tackles in 13 games. The 69% solo rate tells you he's making plays independently. At 175 he's light for a LB but clearly plays bigger than listed. You don't rack up 11 TFL at 175 without elite speed or elite instincts, and probably both.

Munson doesn't have the flashiest numbers on this list, but he has the one thing nobody else except Matthews can claim: a ring.

Why #25

18 TFL. Third in the state. At Rangeview, against 5A Metro offensive lines. The profile: 105 tackles and 18 TFL, but zero sacks, zero INTs, zero forced fumbles. Jones is a pure run-stuffer. He finds the ball, gets to the ball, makes the play behind the line. 18 of his 105 tackles (17%) were for loss, which is an elite disruption rate.

As a junior, if he adds any pass rush or turnover production, the top 10 is in reach. 18 TFL is not a fluke. That's a kid who knows where the play is going before the running back does.