TOP 2026 LB RECRUITS

Scout, analyze & recruit top 2026 LB recruits at Scout Trout Elite & College Football Today below!
Updated September 19th, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. EST

2026 TOP LINEBACKER RECRUITS

Scout Trout 2026 top linebacker recruits scouting profiles can be found below and on the College Football Today top football recruit rankings recruiting database!

LB Xavious Anderson
Callaway HS
(GA)
6'1", 215
2026 TOP LB RECRUIT

GPA - 3.75

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.

ANDERSON HUDL

2026 SOUTH ALABAMA LB COMMIT

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
Follow Top 2026 LB Recruit Xavious Anderson on X!

LB Talanoa Ili
Class of 2026
Orange Lutheran HS
(CA)
6'4",215

TOP 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUIT

Player notes - Top 2026 LB recruit Talanoa Ili was added to the College Football Today & ESPN Plus 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 & ESPN Plus 2026 Top Football Recruit Rankings and we are eager to watch him take to the field during his freshman season campaign in California.

ILI REPORT

2026 USC LB COMMIT

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!

LB Jaxon Pyatt
Class of 2026
Arvada West HS
(CO)
6'1",215

GPA - 3.5

Player notes - New 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.

Pyatt Live Evaluation

2026 CALIFORNIA LB COMMIT

40 yard dash - 4.6
Bench press - 320
Deadlift - 650
CFB offers - Bowling Green, Boston College, UNC-Charlotte, Colorado State, UConn, Kansas State, Ole Miss & Syracuse
CFB programs showing interest - Arkansas, Kentucky, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame & Rutgers
Follow Top 2026 LB Jaxon Pyatt on X!

LB Trentin Maupin
Class of 2026
Plainville HS
(KS)
5'11", 200

GPA - 4.0

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.

Maupin Hudl