Sophomore Auburn Linebacker Predicted to Have Breakout 2026 Season

The Auburn Tigers have had some of the best linebacker play in the country over the last few years, with LSU transfer Xavier Atkins headlining last year’s production. However, CBS Sports recently released an article naming 12 SEC players poised for breakout seasons, and another Auburn linebacker got a nod: Bryce Deas.

Deas is a rising sophomore at Auburn who joined the roster as part of a Hugh Freeze recruiting effort at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Md., a school that is rapidly becoming a pipeline for Auburn recruits. Out of high school, Deas was a four-star linebacker who was rated as the 27th-best in the class.

What stands out about Deas, to CBS Sports and its insiders, at its crux, is quite simple.

“He’s athletic as hell,” one insider said, before Brad Crawford added on that “The Tigers' scheme thrives on speed at all three levels, and Deas has the athletic profile to help stabilize the middle after pass rusher Amaris Williams transferred to Georgia. With Xavier Atkins alongside him, Deas won't be asked to carry the entire load against the run or in coverage.”

Splitting the load will be a big part of the scheme, especially for Deas, who only managed to string together eight tackles throughout his freshman season. However, the Tigers have several top pieces to share the load with Deas, including the aforementioned Atkins, Demarcus Riddick, Shadarius Toodle, Elijah Melendez and more.

With that said, Auburn linebackers tend to have impressive sophomore campaigns, and Xavier Atkins may be the best example. Atkins only had three tackles over his first season at LSU before heading to the Plains and leading the Tigers in a host of stats, including total tackles, in his sophomore campaign.

Deas managed to bring down eight ball carriers this past season, over double what Atkins was able to do in his first season. Now that Deas may be seeing more full-time production, those numbers could skyrocket as the Tigers’ 2026 season drags on.

“[Deas possesses] the trigger to attack downhill, fill gaps before plays develop and play with the swarming mentality Durkin demands at the point of contact,” Crawford wrote.

Auburn’s linebackers have been expected to be lethal in 2026 from the moment the Auburn faithful were informed that Atkins, Riddick and Melendez would be sticking around. Throw Deas, who is poised for a breakout season, into the mix, and the Tigers could have one of, if not the single, best linebacker cores in the country.

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