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Steve Fryer ranks the top linebackers in Orange County for the fall 2021 season:
TOP 10 LINEBACKERS
1. David Bailey, Mater Dei: On a roster filled with star athletes, Bailey (6-5, 225), who was All-Trinity League first team last season, still stands out. Injury limited his availability to two games this past spring season but he still had a Trinity League-leading four sacks along with six tackles for loss. Bailey, a senior, has scholarship offers from a multitude of colleges including Stanford, UCLA and USC.
2. Leviticus Su’a, Mater Dei: The book on Leviticus is he is a hard-hitting, sideline-to-sideline linebacker who won’t miss tackles. Su’a (6-2, 220), a junior, was all-league first team this past spring when he had two sacks in five games. He has offers from Miami, Michigan and several others.
3. Jacob Manu, Servite: Manu was All-Trinity League first team this past spring as a junior. At 5-11 and 210, he is not the biggest linebacker in the county but Friars coach Troy Thomas said Manu compares favorably with a similarly-framed Servite linebacker of the past, Matt Inman, who was the Orange County defensive player of the year in 2010. Manu is getting recruiting interest from high-academic schools like Dartmouth and Penn.
4. Brian Jurado, Los Alamitos: He was All-Sunset League first team as a junior this past spring season. Jurado (5-11, 190) played strong safety last season but his ongoing toughness and added muscle have transformed him into a linebacker. Griffins coach Ray Fenton calls him “an inside linebacker with attitude.”
5. Aden Eckenwiler, Servite: Eckenwiler is another returning all-league first-team selection in the Friars linebackers corps. “Savvy’ is the best word to describe him,” Servite coach Troy Thomas said of Eckenwiler (5-10, 210). Known as “Ace” in the Servite football program, he might see some action as running back, too.
6. Christopher Quiroga, Orange: Quiroga (5-11, 210) was All-Orange Coast first team this past spring season as a junior. He also was the Panthers’ defensive player of the year. “He’s for sure one of the best linebackers in the county,” said Orange coach Robert Pedroza.
7. Eoghan Kerry, Mater Dei: Kerry has the size (6-4, 230) and speed that attracts the college football recruiters; the senior committed to Texas. There was not enough room on the spring 2021 All-Trinity League team to squeeze Kerry on the list, but if his rate of improvement continues this fall he probably will be an All-County candidate.
8. Malaki Te’o, Mater Dei: The Monarchs linebackers group is strong enough that all four starters at the position are in this preseason top 10. Te’o (6-1, 245) was All-Trinity League second team this past spring when he had 13 tackles in five games. He has offers from Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
9. Tyler Moses, Huntington Beach: He was All-Sunset League first team last season as a junior. Moses (6-1, 205) also will play safety and will line up as an edge rusher in some situations. “He does everything for us,” said Oilers coach Brett Brown. “He’s a pretty special football player.”
10. Reese McDonald, San Clemente: Tritons coach Jaime Ortiz is counting on McDonald to be a leader on a defense that will be mostly made up of juniors like McDonald (6-0. 190). He was All-South Coast League second team last season for the league champions. “He’s a very consistent linebacker for us,” Ortiz said.
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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