Best LB classes: Reviewing 2009
The Rivals100 class of 2016 was historical in many ways and with 10 five-star linebackers, it became the best year for the position in Rivals.com history. Over the last few days we have been looking at the other best linebacker classes in our history and how they panned out. Today, we finish it off with a look at the class of 2009, which had five five-stars at LB.
The skinny: Burfict flipped his commitment from USC to Arizona State on National Signing Day after taking official visits to both schools in January. Controversy surrounded Burfict at Arizona State, but on-field production was impressive. He skipped his senior season after a relatively disappointing junior campaign. This, coupled with off-the-field issues, led him to go undrafted. Signed by Cincinnati as a free agent, he has continued to be highly productive on the field, but the controversy has also followed him to the NFL. He is suspended for the first three games of 2016 after his helmet-to-helmet hit on Antonio Brown in the playoffs led to his ejection.
Farrell’s take: Burfict was a beast, a physical linebacker who was ready to make an impact, but he had some off-field question marks, mainly academics, which led a few schools to back off. In fact, his flip from USC to Arizona State was largely thought to be about academics. Regardless, this kid was a nasty, mean and big hitter out of high school and he has continued that style of play, whether you consider him dirty or not, at the NFL level. The only thing missing was that high draft status, but the off-field stuff killed that.
The skinny: Jenkins committed to Florida on National Signing Day after taking January official visits to Gainesville and Penn State. In three seasons with the Gators, he totaled totaled 180 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and six sacks, while playing under both Urban Meyer and Will Muschamp. Foregoing his senior season, he was drafted by Miami in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. His last two seasons with the Dolphins have been very productive, which included leading the team in tackles during the 2014 season with 110.
Farrell’s take: Jenkins played running back and linebacker in high school and was all over the field. He was a clear-cut five-star talent with size, speed and power, although he was a little stiff and upright on both sides of the ball, something that was never truly corrected and hampered his development. But after sliding further in the draft than we would have projected, his has found his rhythm in the NFL and is emerging as one of the more productive linebackers in the AFC.
The skinny: Te’o took all five of his official visits to Notre Dame, BYU, Stanford, USC and UCLA before committing to the Fighting Irish on National Signing Day. Te’o had a memorable four-year run in South Bend, culminating in his senior season when Notre Dame reached the national championship game and Te'o won the Butkus Award and was the runner-up to Johnny Manziel for the Heisman Trophy. While his “girlfriend hoax” story will live on forever, his impressive play on the field should also be remembered. Selected in the second round by San Diego in the 2013 NFL Draft, Te’o has established himself nicely with the Chargers. In three seasons, he has started 31 games and totaled 204 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Farrell’s take: Te’o was a very tough one to gauge and others even had him higher on their list than we did. Playing against weak Hawaii competition, he looked like a man amongst boys on film, but when he hit the mainland the few times he did for camps or the Under Armour Game, he more than held his own. He was a bit stiffer than Jenkins and that also didn’t change much, but like Jenkins, he has carved out a niche in the NFL with his instincts.
The skinny: Johnson trimmed his list to Alabama, Auburn and LSU before committing to the Crimson Tide early in his senior season. During his four seasons in Tuscaloosa, Johnson helped the Crimson Tide to three national championships while totaling 162 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He was selected by Kansas City in the fourth-round of the 2013 NFL Draft, but has jumped around the league during the last three seasons. Now with the New York Giants after his stops in Kansas City, Cincinnati and Washington, Johnson has totaled 22 tackles during his three seasons.
Farrell’s take: Johnson, like many of the linebackers in this class, had good size but he wasn’t quite as instinctual as Jenkins or Te’o and not as physical as Burfict. However, his strength was how much ground he could cover as a quick twitch kid with length who could work sideline to sideline. He was also fluid in coverage. His college career was a tad underwhelming based on expectations except for all those national titles and he hasn’t found his niche in the NFL as yet.
The skinny: Bell had little drama during his recruiting process, as he committed to the Buckeyes during the spring after his junior season. After redshirting in 2009 and seeing minimal success in 2010, Bell transferred to Duquesne as he was facing a one-year suspension at Ohio State for breaking team rules. After a rather non-eventful stint with the Dukes, Bell went undrafted and was never able to latch on to an NFL team.
Farrell’s take: The only true bust of this group, Bell was heavily debated during rankings meetings because he wasn’t very tall or long but he played with a nasty edge, loved to hit and had natural leverage. Built somewhat like a fullback at 6-foot and 230 pounds, one of my memories of Bell was his fight with Shane Skov during the U.S. Army All American Bowl East team scrimmage. This kid played with a fire, but he apparently couldn’t control that fire off the field and channel it properly.