Linebacker U? Huskies Rank in S-I's National Top 10 Over Past Decade
The University of Washington football team last fall likely was one fleet-footed, big-play inside linebacker from having an exceptional season.
This person might have been the difference between the 8-5 record that was reality and finishing 10-3 or 11-2.
For most of the season, the Huskies started a pair of seniors who were better suited as reserves, guys with limitations in running sideline to sideline, players who simply filled gaps.
What made this linebacker shortage so ominous for the Huskies, according to research conducted by Sports Illustrated, is they rank seventh nationally for turning out talent at this crucial position over the past decade.
Linebacker U?
At Washington, it's true.
Since 2010, the Huskies have provided pro linebackers in Mason Foster, Shaq Thompson, Cory Littleton, Keyshawn Bierria, Hau'oli Kikaha, John Timu and Ben Burr-Kirven.
Littleton became an All-Pro selection in 2018. Foster turned into a solid NFL starter. Thompson, a Carolina Panthers mainstay on the second row and shown in the photo with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, was a first-round pick and team stalwart.
Rankings are based on a school's number of pros produced, draft position, quality of play and honors received. Each position area is being graded.
Sports Illustrated's top 10 linebacker schools are as follows: Alabama, LSU, Penn State, Boston College, UCLA, Florida, Washington, Colorado, Florida State and Ohio State.
One of the Huskies' issues this past season was that three of their top inside linebacker recruits in recent years moved on to other schools, leaving the program shorthanded at the position.
Milo Eifler transferred from the UW to Illinois, where he was a starter this past season; Ale Kaho, who spent a summer in Seattle but left the program for Alabama; and Nick Bolton, who de-committed from the Huskies and now starts for Missouri.
As a side note, Utah State ranked 11th based on the performance of two linebackers, one of whom is the Seattle Seahawks' Bobby Wagner, considered the NFL's top backer for multiple years.
Reid Foster, SI's architect of this position series, explains the work that went into this project. Listen to him break it down on the accompanying video and read the story here.
