Mountain West Football: 2023 Post-Spring Practice Linebacker Rankings
After lots of turnover, which Mountain West teams look to be in top form at linebacker after spring football practice?
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Lots of new anchors in the middle of defenses.
Note: Italics denote projected starters.
12. Colorado State
High ranking in group: 6th | Low ranking in group: 12
Projected depth: Chase Wilson, Drew Kulick, Justin Sanchez, Aaron Moore
The Rams are dealing with the departures of both Cam’ron Carter and Dequan Jackson headed into 2023, so while Wilson and Kulick appear to be the next men up — they played over 500 combined snaps last year — the major task will be to prove last year’s flashes of potential are for real: Wilson ended the year with a 2.5-sack performance against New Mexico while Kulick finished the year with 43 tackles in part-time duty.
Colorado State also recently brought in Cal transfer Trey Paster to shore up depth. With a full year in Freddie Banks’ system behind them, don’t be surprised if the Rams end up vastly outperforming their standing here.
11. Hawaii
High ranking: 3rd | Low ranking: 12th
Projected depth: Logan Taylor, Isaiah Tufaga, Noah Kema, Demarii Blanks
The top three in the middle of this defense seems clear cut, but the major question facing Hawaii at this point is how they’ll fill out the depth chart to replace Kolby Wyatt, Noa Kamana, and Penei Pavihi. Blanks was a junior college All-American in 2021, but the other five players listed on the roster are sophomores and freshmen who have yet to see the field for more than a handful of plays.
Regardless of who steps into the breach, one point of emphasis should be cleaner tackling: According to Pro Football Focus, Taylor and Kema were two among just eight Mountain West linebackers with a missed tackle percentage above 25% while playing at least 100 snaps.
10. Nevada
High ranking: 4th | Low ranking: 11th
Projected depth: Drue Watts, Naki Mateialona, Eli’jah Winston, Jackson LaDuke, Maurice Wilmer, Marcel Walker-Burgess, Davion Blackwell
The Wolf Pack faced a major overhaul here in Ken Wilson’s first year at the helm and, while year one didn’t develop any all-conference performers, his initial crop of linebackers had their moments: Watts had a tackle for loss in eight straight games at one point and he and Mateialona each had eight quarterback hurries each.
At a minimum, Nevada now has one of the most experienced linebacker corps in the Mountain West with LaDuke the biggest new import from Oregon. With both the defensive line and secondary replacing some major pieces of their own this time around, it could be this group’s turn to create some surprises in Reno.
9. Utah State
High ranking: 5th | Low ranking: 12th
Projected depth: MJ Tafisi, Max Alford, Gavin Barthiel, Cole Joyce, Josh Williams
The Aggies have undergone a major shake-up on nearly every front, including linebacker, thanks to the transfer portal: AJ Vongphachanh, Kaleo Neves, and Sione Moa are all gone, leaving a major dent in the overall two-deep.
What’s left isn’t all bad, though. Tafisi’s first year in Logan was a very good one which saw him lead the team in tackles per game and rack up nine tackles for loss while Alford started the last four games and held his own as a true freshman (the two even finished second and third, respectively, among conference linebackers in run defense grading). Barthiel’s arrival from Washington State could be a timely one though his on-field experience thus far has been limited, as is Joyce’s, but this unit is another with a decent chance to come out much better in retrospect.
8. UNLV
High ranking: 6th | Low ranking: 10th
Projected depth: Brennon Scott, Kyle Beaudry, Fred Thompkins, Elijah Shelton, Jackson Woodard, LeShaun Bell
Replacing Austin Ajiake will be a tough task for new defensive coordinator Michael Scherer, but we probably said the same thing about Javin White a couple of years ago and that worked out just fine for the Rebels. Scott’s return from an injury that wiped out his 2022 season could be huge because, in case you forgot, he was the only freshman in the Mountain West to tally double-digit tackles for loss back in 2021.
Whether this group is just fine or truly breaks out may depend on how well Thompkins steps in to replace Ajiake and how much more damage Shelton can do as a pass rusher. Interestingly, Thompkins had the lowest missed tackle rate (7.3%) of any Mountain West linebacker who returns for 2023 while Shelton matched Adam Plant Jr. with 17 quarterback hurries despite playing roughly 100 fewer snaps. If things come together, watch out.
7. New Mexico
High ranking: 4th | Low ranking: 12th
Projected depth: Syaire Riley, Ray Leutele, Dmitri Johnson, Alec Marenco, Mihalis Santorineos
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: The experience in this group took a hit when Cody Moon and, more recently, Dion Hunter elected to enter the transfer portal. Taken in tandem with Rocky Long leaving Albuquerque for Syracuse, you might be tempted to think the Lobos are in serious trouble.
Keep in mind, though, that this unit was hit hard by the injury bug in 2022: Leutele missed five games at mid-season while Marenco and Riley each had season-ending ailments. Head coach Danny Gonzales and new defensive coordinator Troy Reffett also seem to have taken a liking to the juco tandem of Johnson and Santorineos, both of whom started with the first-team defense during UNM’s Spring Showcase back in March. If health is on the Lobos’ side and their track record of developing underrated defenders remains strong, they could be stingy.
6. San Jose State
High ranking: 1st | Low ranking: 10th
Projected depth: Bryun Parham, Jordan Pollard, Elijah Wood, Jordan Cobbs, Matthew Tago, Noah McNeal-Franklin
The Spartans are another Mountain West team undergoing a reset here with the graduations of Kyle Harmon and Alii Matau, but unlike some other teams in the conference this group returns a lot more experience than you realize while adding some interesting new pieces.
In the former group, Parham is a breakout candidate after making ten starts as a sophomore and finishing behind Viliami Fehoko with the second-best PFF overall grade on the Spartans defense (72.8). Cobbs is worth remembering, too, as he made five starts in 2021 and began last season as a starter before an injury derailed his senior campaign. Among the latter contingent, McNeal-Franklin starred up in the North Bay for a time at Contra Costa College and is another juco arrival worth keeping an eye on.
