Ask Farrell: How weak is the 2021 linebacker class?
MORE: Breaking down the 2021 linebacker rankings
A linebacker has not been mentioned when talking about the national top 10 for 2021 and no prospect at that position is anywhere near the top 10. Or the top 20. The first linebacker off the board is Dallas (Ga.) Paulding County's Smael Mondon at No. 32 overall followed by Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei's Raesjon Davis at No. 36. The first inside linebacker is Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood's Branden Jennings at No. 46.
The last recruiting class that didn't have a top-10 linebacker was in 2015 when Porter Gustin was the top-ranked linebacker at No. 25 followed by Malik Jefferson at No. 28 and John Houston at No. 30. In the 2014 cycle, there was no top-10 linebacker, either.
Because it's so early in the 2021 recruiting cycle, there are only six four-star inside linebackers. At outside linebacker, there are 15 four-stars, but no player at that position - either inside or outside - is ranked higher than 5.9, a mid-level four-star.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if the 2021 class is down at the linebacker position or if it's just a difficult spot to rank this early and so being conservative is much smarter. We also ask which player he sees at OLB or ILB could emerge as a possible top-10 recruit as this cycle continues.
“I think it’s a down year at linebacker and we have become much more cautious with linebackers after we had 10 in the 2016 class, with many of them not panning out. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a five-star linebacker, it just means it will take a little bit longer for one to emerge.
"If I had to pick one I like right now it would be Mondon who is an excellent athlete at the position. I also like Jennings as an inside guy and a big hitter, but overall the depth at the position is lacking in the 2021 class overall. We may have learned our lesson in over-ranking the position from a few years ago.”