Which linebackers are leaders of the defense for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida entering the 2024 season?
With the season nearing the opening whistle, here's a closer look at some of the area's best as Florida high school football approaches kickoff. On Friday, Aug. 23, Jacksonville-area schools begin the march toward the FHSAA championships on deck for this December, following the end of the Metro-Suburban system and the return of enrollment-based classification .
Here's the Times-Union's ranking of the area's best LBs, from 10 to 1:
Best Florida high school football LBs in Jacksonville area for 2024
Amauri Goff
Yulee High School
Height/weight: 6-0, 200, Sr.
College commitment/offers : Offers include Erskine.
Entering his fourth year as a Hornets starter, Goff recorded 39 tackles (eight for loss) in only five games. As a sophomore, he made 108 tackles with three sacks, three fumble recoveries and a pick. Also a three-year baseball starter.
Troy Holloway
Bolles School
Height/weight : 6-1, 202, Sr.
College commitment/offers : Offers include Hampden-Sydney and Wabash.
A productive junior in a hybrid safety/linebacker role, helping Bolles to the final four. Holloway made 123 tackles last year (14 for loss), plus two sacks and a forced fumble.
Talan Babin
Ponte Vedra High School
Height/weight : 6-1, 215, Jr.
College commitment/offers : Offers include Marshall.
Top returning tackler for the Sharks with 82 tackles and a pair of sacks. His father, Jason Babin, twice earned Pro Bowl selections, and older brother Maddux Babin signed last year with Western Michigan.
Dajon Brown
Columbia High School
Height/weight : 6-0, 200, Sr.
Highly versatile outside linebacker transferred to the Tigers from Oakleaf. He recorded 102 yards and three sacks during his junior year, and also contributed on offense with four touchdowns and 318 all-purpose yards.
Jacob Curry
Nease High School
Height/weight : 6-1, 190, Jr.
College commitment/offers : Offers include Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern and Western Kentucky.
Curry played a versatile defensive wild-card role for Nease as a sophomore, mostly combining elements of linebacker and safety. He finished with five sacks and 86 total tackles (nine and a half for loss).
Lecosta Byrd
Fort White High School
Height/weight : 6-0, 215, Sr.
Byrd was all-around dominant on defense as a junior at Fort White. He recorded 98 tackles (23 for loss) with two interceptions and three forced fumbles, plus three kick blocks.
Tony Williams
Raines High School
Height/weight : 6-1, 215, Jr.
College commitment/offers: Offers include Miami, Illinois and Indiana.
Projected as a linebacker at the next level, Williams excelled as a two-way player last year at White. He ran for 320 yards and seven touchdowns, in addition to five picks and 66 tackles on defense.
Duke Lewis
Bradford High School
Height/weight : 6-3, 215, Sr.
College commitment/offers : Offers include Arkansas State, Delaware and Marshall.
A combination edge rusher and outside linebacker, Lewis was extremely productive on Bradford's state finalist defense in 2023. Recorded 104 tackles, 22 for loss, 12 sacks, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Seth Chestnut
Baker County High School
Height/weight: 6-1, 215, Sr.
College commitment/offers: Committed to Florida Atlantic.
Stacks up tackles at a staggering pace, including 153 during his sophomore year and 133 last season. Chestnut also recorded six sacks, a fumble return and an interception to help the Wildcats' playoff push.
Simeon Caldwell
Bolles School
Height/weight: 6-3, 190, Jr.
College commitment/offers : Offers include Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and Tennessee.
Caldwell starred as a sophomore with 137 tackles (11 for loss), two interceptions, a sack, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Future position is debated; some scouts project him as a safety, some as a linebacker at college level.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ranking Jacksonville-area's best LBs in 2024 Florida high school football season
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