Ranking the Top 15 FCS Transfer Portal LBs for the 2026 Season

With the transfer portal window and National Signing Day in the rearview, it's time to turn our focus to analyzing all the great talent that signed with FCS programs across the country.

We continue with our positional rankings for the top FCS transfers ahead of the 2026 season. It will culminate in our annual FCS transfer portal rankings, which will be released next week.

There are many different ways to evaluate players and prospects, and these rankings are not meant to guarantee that a player will be successful, but to give an indication of how much value and potential they bring for the 2026 season.

We move on to linebackers, focusing on Division I transfers from the FCS and FBS. We will circle back and take a look at some of the top Division II transfers later this offseason. These rankings feature multiple different styles of linebackers, including MIKE, Off-Ball, and Outside/EDGE linebackers.

These rankings blend proven production with player potential. For the FCS, production is valued much more than potential; however, a large amount of value and consideration is given to the level of competition they have faced.

For example, we will be comparing players who may have experience in the Big Ten to players who found success in the NEC or Pioneer League, and that has to be factored in. The last thing we consider is the potential upside of a player.

Below are the Top 15 transfer linebackers across FCS football ahead of the 2026 season, along with some notable honorable mentions.

15. Justin Eklund (Montana)

Eklund appeared in 19 games over two years at Bowling Green, recording over 20 tackles. He started one game last year, but also gained experience at San Jose State in 2022. Eklund particularly excelled as a run stopper on the field and has good size at 235 lbs. He should find his way into the rotation at Montana next season.

14. Tyrese Whitaker (Tennessee Tech)

Whitaker was an edge rusher at Temple the past three seasons, playing over 400 snaps for the Owls. He saw action in 11 games last year, including a start against Georgia Tech, finishing with 7 pressures and 6 QB hurries in only 122 pass-rush snaps. He's due for a much bigger role with the Golden Eagles next season.

13. Ralph Ortiz (Tennessee Tech)

Ortiz spent last season at Kansas State, but it's his production at the Division II level that lands him here. He was named the GSC Defensive Freshman of the Year at West Florida, finishing with 40 tackles, 7 TFLs, 1 sack, 3 INTs, and 10 passes defended. Ortiz followed that up with first-team All-GSC honors in 2024, in which he recorded 9 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. He has an extremely high ceiling in Tennessee Tech's aggressive defensive scheme.

12. Charles Battaglia (Campbell)

Battaglia was a second-team All-NEC selection for Phil Steele last season after starting in 12 games at Stonehill. He ended the year with 81 tackles, 6 TFLs, and 2 sacks for the Skyhawks. Over the past two years, he's played nearly 1,200 total snaps and should immediately push for a starting role at Campbell.

11. Michael Torres (West Georgia)

Torres follows his head coach from Presbyterian to West Georgia after finishing as the 2nd-leading tackler for the Blue Hose. He had a breakout year with 74 tackles, 7 TFLs, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. He was elite against the run, finishing with one of the highest run defense grades in the FCS. Torres was an All-PFL honorable mention in 2025.

10. Lance Byndon (Stony Brook)

Lance Byndon is an EDGE who was a second-team All-MEAC selection at Morgan State in 2025. He finished the year with 44 tackles, 8 TFLs, and 4.5 sacks after a breakout 2024 season, in which he posted 8 TFLs and 7.5 sacks. Byndon generated 24 pressures last year in only 228 pass-rush snaps. He excels with his speed off the edge, making a real impact as a true pass rusher in key situations.

9. Josh Cashiola (UTRGV)

Cashiola has a chance to be a real impact player for UTRGV next season. In 2024, he had a promising season with 5 TFLs and 4 sacks, setting up a potential breakout season in 2025, but he was limited to 4 games due to injury. In those 4 games, Cashiola still generated 10 pressures, 9 QB hurries, and recorded 2 TFLs. If he can remain healthy, Cashiola could shine in the Southland Conference.

8. Jackson Marshall (Eastern Kentucky)

Marshall brings a ton of experience to Eastern Kentucky after playing over 1,000 snaps the past two years at Gardner-Webb. He had the best season of his career in 2025, recording 66 total tackles, 4 TFLs, 0.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Marshall thrives in space and had an excellent coverage grade last season with the Runnin' Bulldogs.

7. Zion Fonua (South Dakota)

Fonua started last season as an important rotational piece, but worked his way into the starting lineup later in the year. He excelled at generating negative plays, finishing with 10 TFLs and 3 sacks in only 566 total snaps. Fonua is extremely versatile, offering coverage upside, and playing over 200 snaps at multiple different positions last season.

6. Geno Calgaro (Stony Brook)

Calgaro played in 22 career games over the past two seasons at St. Francis. He made an immediate impact in 2024, earning FCS Freshman All-American honors, which he followed up with a first-team All-NEC campaign last season. He recorded 105 total tackles, 10.5 TFLs, and 0.5 sacks last season. Calgaro led the Red Flashes in total tackles in back-to-back seasons, becoming only the 6th player in program history to do so.

5. Naiteitei Mose (Montana)

Mose spent four seasons at Georgetown, playing in 35 career games despite battling injuries earlier in his career. In 2025, Mose had 63 total tackles, 6 TFLs, and generated 14 pressures from the middle linebacker spot. He also graded out as one of the best cover linebackers at the FCS level. Mose earned second-team All-Patriot League honors in 2025.

4. Jalen Rambert (Holy Cross)

Rambert started 12 games at middle linebacker as a sophomore at Wofford, where he led the team with 89 tackles. He also added 9.5 TFLs, which earned him second-team All-SoCon honors from Phil Steele. He could be a real force in the Patriot League, where he joins a Holy Cross defense that puts its linebackers in an excellent position to go make plays.

3. Kenyon Partridge (Tarleton State)

Partridge projects as more of a true EDGE player, possessing excellent size and speed at 6-foot-3, 250 lbs. As a redshirt sophomore at Western Carolina, he started every game and earned second-team All-SoCon honors from Phil Steele. He generated 14 quarterback hurries and 30 pressures, but his true value comes as a run stopper, demanding double teams and setting the edge.

2. Jake Dalmado (Southeastern Louisiana)

Dalmado is an incredible player who transferred from Nicholls this offseason. While with the Colonels, he was a Preseason FCS All-American and earned All-Southland honors in back-to-back seasons. He burst onto the scene in 2024 with 9 sacks and 12.5 TFLs as an edge rusher.

Dalmado followed that up with another excellent season, moving to off-ball linebacker, but still recording 101 tackles and 7.5 TFLs. He's generated 54 pressures over the past two years. Dalmado is one of the most versatile linebackers in the country.

1. Eli Ennis (Stephen F. Austin)

Ennis only saw action in four games at UAB last season, preserving his redshirt. It's what he did at Nicholls that lands him at No. 1 here. He was an All-American for the Colonels, as well as a Buck Buchanan and Jerry Rice Award finalist from 2022-24.

As a junior, he finished with 111 total tackles, 7.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 3 INTs, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 pass breakups. He was a consensus Freshman All-American and was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in 2022. It's not often that you can add an All-American player to your team through the portal.

Honorable Mentions:

Mitchell Robinson Jr. (Alabama State)
Micah Gay (Jackson State)
Mayson Hitchens (Eastern Washington)
Matthew Cooks (Northern Arizona)
Denzel Johnson (Florida A&M)
Dane Picariello (Rhode Island)
Malik Lewis (West Georgia)
Tanner Williams (Montana)
Will Johnson (Tennessee Tech)
Jamarcus Smith (UT Martin)
Seth Hampton (Towson)
Reggie Allen Jr. (UT Martin)
Donovan Dyson (Monmouth)
Devon Anderson (Western Illinois)
Jahide Lesaine (Monmouth)
Walt Gray (Incarnate Word)
London Hall (Bethune-Cookman)
Zyion Freer-Brown (The Citadel)
Amanuel Dickson (Robert Morris)
Derek Hite (Elon)

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