Football guru DC Hendrix is back with his look at some of the top players from each position heading into the season.
He has tackled quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, offensive linemen and defensive linemen over the last few weeks. Today, he breaks down his top 10 linebackers.
NOTE: All of these rankings will be updated weekly once the season begins, with the possibility of new names joining the list and names moving up and down.
1. Austin Phillips, sophomore, East Noble
As a freshman, Phillips quickly became one of the top football players not only in the state but in the nation for the Class of 2029. The two-way athlete has made a name for himself as both a running back and a linebacker. However, he likely translates better as a linebacker at the next level, but that’s years away. East Noble is going to deploy him where he helps the Knights the most. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore has already racked up a dozen Division I offers to follow up on becoming the only freshman in the state to be named an IFCA All-State LB. Our OTH Breakout Player of the Year from a year ago accumulated 99 total tackles, 13 TFLs, three sacks, eight hurries and three forced fumbles. With offers already from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan State, and Tennessee, just to name a few, the scary part is he still has three full seasons left at the HS level.
2. Eli Neuhouser, senior, Carroll
Neuhouser returns to Carroll with very high expectations as a First Team Team All-SAC selection last year. Coming into his senior season, he looks to follow up an extremely impressive junior year where he finished with 142 total tackles in 13 games, three tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and four total touchdowns. Towards the end of his junior year, Neuhouser announced he would continue his athletic and academic career at Northern Illinois. With a trip to semistate last season, he also returns with some additional playoff experience and an extra chip on his shoulder. He will look to become the all-time leading tackler this season in Carroll program history.
3. Detrick Smith III, senior, South Side
Smith III continues to be one of the most underrated players in the state. He had 152 total tackles, 20.5 TFL and four sacks in only 11 games a season ago, as well as an interception. He finished amongst the leaders in the state in tackles, yet not enough people are talking about it. South Side coach Andre Goodwell did inform us on the Sideline Sports Show this past week that Smith is having some conversations with Division I programs, so maybe some deserved notoriety is on the way, but Smith III is one of the most talented linebackers in the state, not just northeast Indiana.
4. Jamarcus Martin, senior, North Side
A popular trend for my initial linebacker rankings will be how underrated some of these young men are on the field. Martin is another LB who deserves more credit than he gets. He plays a bit of edge and outside ‘backer, but even North Side coach Ben Johnson believe he is a better OLB with his frame. With 52 total tackles and seven TFLs last season, what was most impressive was his eight sacks, which led the Legends. He has one Division I offer and a couple of smaller school offers, but Martin is a D1 LB. He has been working on putting on some muscle this past offseason and is ready to bring in some more offers in his senior season.
5. Eli Schwab, senior, DeKalb
Schwab was a Second Team All-NE8 selection last season for the Barons, but has been killing it heading into his final prep campaign in preparing to take his game to the next level. Hard to imagine someone who finished with 97 total tackles, 15 TFL and two sacks last season getting even better, but DeKalb coach Ryan Robertson is high on Schwab’s improvements as well. The senior led the Barons in tackles last season and he hasn’t missed any workouts, practices or anything this summer. There was a plethora of talent at linebacker in the NE8 last season, and Schwab still had a strong case that he was worthy of a First Team selection. This season, he should have a huge year.
6. Bret Sauder, senior, Leo
Sauder has started at Leo since his sophomore year, but missed some time due to an elbow injury last season that deteriorated his stats a bit and caused him to miss three games. Sauder led the way at the Mike linebacker position in the NE8 as a First Team selection despite not being at 100 percent due to injury. He is one of many for Leo who will need to step it up this season due to the program being especially hit by graduation. On the defensive side of the ball, the Lions should be fine, and Sauder looks to lead the way. When healthy, he is one of the best linebackers in the area.
7. Braylin Fertil, senior, Snider
Fertil finished with 61 tackles and a sack last season for the Panthers, who are out to prove they’re back as a prestigious program and that last year was a fluke. He won the respect of the other coaches in the SAC and was honored as a Second Team All-SAC outside linebacker. He has been putting in a ton of work this offseason as well to get his name out there and had impressive showings at the Toledo and Dayton prospect camps. He has quickly become one of the top names at linebacker in the area, and could be a name to watch to climb this list quickly once the season gets rolling.
8. Reece Hammond, senior, Adams Central
Hammond is a First Team All-ACAC linebacker who returns for the Flying Jets after being an absolute dog on defense a season ago. He finished with 136 total tackles, including nine TFLs, three interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a pair of defensive touchdowns. He’s a do-it-all linebacker for Adams Central, and he will likely be the team’s leader on defense. He may also have a bit of an increased role on offense as well at running back, but defense is where he thrives, and film doesn’t lie in showing why he led the team in solo tackles with 80 last season. With both him and Xander Schwartz returning, AC is blessed with two solid LBs. Hammond’s big-play ability on defense is what separates him from other guys at his position in the area.
9. Asher Wagoner, senior, Carroll
Wagoner is a two-way kid who can make the case in being a top running back as well as linebacker, perhaps both. Although he only got All-SAC Honorable Mention last season, he was on a stacked Carroll team where it was a bit easier to discredit him because he didn’t finish with the stats Neuhouser or Evan Brubaker had. With Brubaker gone due to graduation, Wagoner returns with a bigger role and more expectations from Coach Doug Dinan. “Asher is a very physical player, a very punishing player with good speed and with great skill,” said Dinan. Wagoner has made the transition to inside linebacker for 2026 and will play alongside Neuhouser, a dynamite combo at the second level. Wagoner will have a huge season with an increased role on defense in 2026.
10. Arelius “RG” Gaston, senior, South Side
As usual, the No. 10 spot in these positional rankings is always the toughest, because you have to leave some capable players off, but one player who couldn’t be left off this list is Gaston, who finished with 103 tackles last season for the Archers. He also averaged 9.4 tackles per game, finished with 5.5 TFLs and one sack. He has worked to put on some muscle to add to his 6-foot-2 frame, which helped bring in his first college offer this past May. He has been hitting the lab all spring and summer to improve for this season. The only linebacker with 100-plus tackles who got no All-SAC love last year, he has a lot to prove, and he rounds out our Top 10 going into 2026.
These opinions represent those of DC Hendrix and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow DC Hendrix on X at dchendrix.
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