Rivals continues to roll out its initial position rankings for the 2022 class and our focus next moves to linebackers. The linebacker position is strong at the top, with two early five-stars leading the way, and only a few have committed early, so there are some major storylines to track early.
CLASS OF 2022: Outside linebackers | Inside linebackers
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CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS WEEK SCHEDULE
MONDAY: Who should be No. 1 in 2022? | Who should be the top QB? | Who should be the top OT?
TUESDAY: Rivals250 revealed | Four prospects earn fifth star | Mike Farrell's thoughts | Who should be the top APB? | Top CB class ever?
WEDNESDAY: QB rankings | RB rankings | WR/TE rankings | OL rankings | Who could be the next five-star WR?
THURSDAY: DL rankings | LB rankings | DB rankings | ATH rankings
FRIDAY: State rankings spotlight
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Team with top commits: OHIO STATE
Not many of the top linebackers have made decisions yet, but three of the top four in the country have, and all three have committed to Ohio State. Five-star CJ Hicks is the No. 4 player in the country and he committed to the Buckeyes on May 1. Hicks is an Ohio native and the top linebacker in this class.
Ohio State also has a commitment from Gabe Powers, another in-state prospect who sits at No. 16 in the nation. He is very much in the five-star discussion early, so the Buckeyes have commitments from two of the top three outside linebackers this cycle, and both are from their home state.
On Tuesday, Dasan McCullough committed to the Buckeyes, and the star athlete out of Kansas checks in at No. 21 nationally. This could be a historic linebacker class when we look back years from now.
Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are off to a great start in 2022. They have five commits total, one a five-star and the other four are four-star prospects.
MORE: McCullough will return to his roots | Buckeyes building perhaps best LB class ever
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Team to watch: ALABAMA
Jeremiah Alexander and Robert Woodyard are already committed to Alabama, but neither are ranked at linebacker yet.
Alexander is the top weakside end, but could play one of the linebacker positions in Tuscaloosa. He is a versatile defender with real upside on the defensive side of the ball.
Woodyard will start out as a top four-star athlete, but as we get another look at him this fall, he is likely to slide into the inside linebackers group, and he could be one of the best in the country. He had early offers to play running back too, so he is a versatile athlete.
The Crimson Tide are involved with numerous other top linebackers this cycle as well, including five-star Shawn Murphy out of Virginia. Murphy has more than 40 offers, and he seems to be fairly open at this time, but there is some early chatter that Alabama could be the team to beat early on.
So for now, on its commitment list, Alabama does not show a linebacker commit, but it has two 2022 commits that could end up there and it will add another elite linebacker or two this cycle.
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Player to watch: DANIEL MARTIN
It is still early for these 2022 prospects, but Daniel Martin, a four-star in Marietta (Ga.), has come out with Georgia as his leader and he could be one to watch. He grew up a Bulldog fan, his mother went to school there, and he is very close with the Georgia coaching staff.
He is just starting his junior year and he has not been able to take visits much of this year, but Georgia is a school he has tripped to numerous times. He has had face-to-face time with Kirby Smart and that staff on visits in the past, and he has that family love for the in-state school.
