- by Braden Gall (@BradenGall on twitter)
The next batch of in-coming college football All-Americans have inked their respective letters of intent. Recruiting is the life blood of the greatest sport on the planet, and, while coaching stills plays the biggest role in winning a championship, having better players can go a long way to earning a trip to the BCS.
Recruiting is an inexact science by definition. It is virtually impossible to accurately peg the mental make-up of any 17-year old child -- much less high-profile, over-coddled 17-year-old athletes. But team recruiting rankings offer the best indication of which team has the best ingredients each coach has to work with each season.
Related:Athlon's Top 25 Recruiting Classes of 2012
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Offensive Positional Rankings:QB | RB | WR/TE | OL
Defensive Positional Rankings:DL | LB | DB | ATH
When it comes to projecting talent, the linebacker position is by far the most versatile and ambiguous. Differences in schemes can create hybrid backer-ends and backer-safeties. The size and skillsets needed to be successful varies across a wide array of talents, everything from pass-rush specialists to man-to-man pass coverage. Traditionally, linebackers are broken up by inside or outside, but with the proliferation of hyrbrid roles, the game has evolved to include much more than simple Mike, Sam and Will players.
Here are the best incoming freshman linebackers in the nation:
| Name | HT | WT | Hometown | AC100 | College |
1. | Josh Harvey-Clemons | 6'5" | 208 | Valdosta, GA | No. 20 | Georgia |
2. | Dante Fowler Jr. | 6'3" | 261 | St. Petersburg, FL | No. 28 | Florida |
3. | Jordan Jenkins | 6'3" | 245 | Hamilton, GA | No. 31 | Georgia |
4. | Reggie Ragland | 6'2" | 247 | Madison, AL | No. 44 | Alabama |
5. | Jabari Ruffin | 6'4" | 230 | Downey, CA | No. 46 | USC |
6. | Noor Davis | 6'4" | 235 | Leesburg, FL | No. 49 | Stanford |
7. | Ifeadi Odenigbo | 6'3" | 217 | Centerville, OH | No. 66 | Northwestern |
8. | Markuss Eligwe | 6'3" | 225 | Stone Mountain, GA | No. 71 | Florida State |
9. | Kwon Alexander | 6'2" | 200 | Oxford, AL | No. 82 | LSU |
10. | Ryan Anderson | 6'2" | 250 | Daphne, AL | No. 84 | Alabama |
11. | Dillon Lee | 6'4" | 240 | Buford, GA | No. 94 | Alabama |
12. | Peter Jinkins | 6'1" | 200 | Dallas, TX | No. 105 | Texas |
13. | Kwontie Moore | 6'2" | 243 | Norfolk, VA | No. 106 | Virginia |
14. | Joe Bolden | 6'3" | 230 | Cincinnati, OH | No. 108 | Michigan |
15. | Vince Biegel | 6'3' | 225 | Wisconsin Rapids, WI | No. 132 | Wisconsin |
16. | Raphael Kirby | 6' | 207 | Stone Mountain, GA | No. 133 | Miami, Fla. |
17. | Tyler Hayes | 6'3" | 215 | Thomasville, AL | No. 143 | Alabama |
18. | Otha Peters | 6'2" | 225 | Covington, LA | No. 149 | Arkansas |
19. | Brian Nance | 6'2" | 210 | Euless, TX | No. 150 | Baylor |
20. | Royce Jenkins-Stone | 6'2" | 215 | Detroit, MI | No. 152 | Michigan |
21. | Nick Dawson | 6'3" | 228 | Charlotte, NC | No. 156 | Louisville |
22. | Denzel Devall | 6'2" | 236 | Bastrop, LA | No. 158 | Michigan |
23. | James Ross | 6'1" | 215 | Orchard Lake, MI | No. 161 | Michigan |
24. | Joshua Perry | 6'3" | 230 | Lewis Center, OH | No. 174 | Ohio State |
25. | Scott Starr | 6'3" | 230 | Norco, CA | No. 182 | USC |
26. | Dalton Santos | 6'3" | 250 | Van, TX | No. 194 | Texas |
27. | Jordan Richmond | 6'3" | 225 | Denton, TX | No. 206 | Texas A&M |
28. | Leonard Floyd | 6'4" | 215 | Eastman, GA | No. 214 | Georgia |
29. | Michael Rose | 6' | 230 | Kansas City, MO | No. 216 | Nebraska |
30. | Ronnie Feist | 6'2" | 225 | Edgard, LA | No. 227 | LSU |
31. | Keith Brown | 6'1 | 225 | Miami, FL | No. 241 | Louisville |
32. | Lorenzo Phillips | 6'2" | 200 | Patterson, LA | No. 242 | LSU |
33. | Quanzell Lambert | 6'1" | 230 | Sicklerville, NJ | No. 243 | Rutgers |
34. | Camren Williams | 6'2" | 215 | West Roxbury, MA | No. 256 | Ohio State |
2012 Athlon Sports Positional Recruiting Rankings:
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Running Backs
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Linebackers
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Defensive Linemen
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Defensive Backs
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Offensive Linemen
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Quarterbacks
College Football 2012 Positional Recruiting Rankings: Athletes
