Where top 20 linebackers landed ahead of 2024 season

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 89 Rating | No. 272 Overall | No. 20 LB

Former School: Pittsburgh

Few transfer linebackers carry as much experience as Bangally Kamara, who played in every single game of his four-year career except for the two he missed last season due to injury. The two-year starter is a plug-and-play weapon in the middle of the South Carolina defense who should be good for somewhere near 50 tackles and a couple of sacks — if he performs at the same level he did late in his time with the Panthers, that is.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 89 Rating | No. 255 Overall | No. 19 LB

Former School: Arkansas

Jaheim Thomas could have followed Luke Fickell from Cincinnati to Wisconsin a year ago, but he instead decided to spend his junior year at Arkansas. One offseason later, the linebacker reunited with his former coach. Thomas posted career-best totals in tackles (90) and sacks (3.5) last season and brings tremendous upside to the Badgers defense after his year in the SEC, and familiarity with Fickell’s system could help get the most out of this projected starter.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 89 Rating | No. 229 Overall | No. 18 LB

Former School: Louisiana

Houston took four transfers in its linebacker room this offseason, and Kendre Gant is the second-highest rated of the bunch. The former part-time starter at Louisiana has ample experience ahead of his final year of eligibility as he opened his career in 2019 at FIU. After stops at the junior college level and Louisiana, Gant is now on his biggest stage yet: the Big 12. Gant appeared in 11 games and made seven starts last season with the Ragin’ Cajuns and registered 64 tackles with a team-high 12 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 89 Rating | No. 272 Overall | No. 20 LB

Former School: Texas A&M

While Alex Howard most recently played for Youngstown State, he landed at Duke by way of Texas A&M, where he went through spring practices. The two-time transfer in the 2024 cycle spent five seasons at the FCS level and made a huge jump to the power conference level, where he could be a key part of the Blue Devils’ defense in Year 1 under new head coach Manny Diaz. Howard brings 142 career tackles to Duke and tallied at least four stops in each of his last 17 games.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 89 Rating | No. 205 Overall | No. 16 LB

Former School: Syracuse

Leon Lowery is a starting-caliber newcomer to the Wisconsin defense. Badger247’s Evan Flood said the Syracuse transfer “had a fantastic spring in Mike Tressel’s defense and was unblockable at times.” That bodes well for the Badgers’ defense, which picked up a lengthy weapon on the edge who tallied 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last fall for the Orange. Lowery’s arrival looked shaky for a moment as he briefly decommitted from Wisconsin, but he re-pledged to the Badgers one day later.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 89 Rating | No. 198 Overall | No. 15 LB

Former School: UC Davis

It was a short trip through the transfer portal from Davis to Berkeley for Teddye Buchanan, who is one of the many FCS products moving up to the FBS level this season. Buchanan could outperform his No. 198 overall transfer rating if everything goes swimmingly with the Golden Bears. He was extremely productive at UC Davis with 208 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and four sacks across 36 games, and he made a huge impact in the turnover department with eight interceptions and 14 forced fumbles. That kind of disruptiveness is a hallmark of California defenses under head coach Justin Wilcox.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 90 Rating | No. 186 Overall | No. 14 LB

Former School: Michigan

It is not entirely uncommon under modern transfer rules for a true freshman to participate in spring practices with one school and enter fall camp with another. That was the route Jeremiah Beasley took from Michigan to Missouri ahead of his first year of college football. The four-star recruit from Belleville (Mich.) High left his home state to play with the Tigers and is another high-profile addition to a defense that has plenty to replace ahead of what it hopes to be a Playoff-caliber campaign.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 90 Rating | No. 173 Overall | No. 13 LB

Former School: Florida

Following two years of development in which Scooby Williams held small roles with Florida, he exploded last season as a 10-game starter and finished third on the roster in tackles (53), second in quarterback hurries (five), and first in forced fumbles (two). Williams enters his redshirt junior campaign at a new school and could thrive under defensive guru Mike Elko, who fielded ferocious units during his head coaching stint at Duke.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 90 Rating | No. 161 Overall | No. 12 LB

Former School: California

Kaleb Elarms-Orr was a standout in offseason practices for TCU and, in turn, climbed up the transfer rankings ahead of the spring window. The reigning second-team All-Pac-12 selection looks like a starter in the making for the Horned Frogs on the heels of a three-year California career in which he played in 21 games and made 11 starts. During his stint with the Golden Bears, Elarms-Orr effectively came out of nowhere as the team’s top defender last season, posting a team-high 92 tackles.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 90 Rating | No. 134 Overall | No. 11 LB

Former School: Tulane

Corey Platt Jr. was one of the many Tulane standouts to follow coach Willie Fritz to Houston, and he ranks No. 1 among all incoming transfers to the Cougars program. The redshirt junior made just one appearance last season, but it was extremely impactful as he registered 15 tackles and a sack against South Alabama. Platt has limited experience with 15 games across three years, but he was on a steep upward trajectory before he tore his Achilles tendon.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 90 Rating | No. 119 Overall | No. 10 LB

Former School: Georgia

Picking up a Georgia transfer, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, is rarely a bad idea given the Bulldogs’ tremendous recruiting acumen. The acquisition of former top-50 prospect Xavian Sorey Jr. could pay huge dividends for Arkansas. Sorey had a difficult path to playing time in the loaded UGA defense but still managed to make a pair of starts last season and rack up 19 tackles and a sack. He developed in that system for three years and looks poised for a breakout year.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 91 Rating | No. 98 Overall | No. 9 LB

Former School: South Carolina

Florida finished second for Grayson Howard in his initial recruitment last year, but after one season at South Carolina, the linebacker elected to join the Gators after all. He was an immediate-impact player as a freshman when he made 19 tackles across 11 games with the Gamecocks, and he ran with the first-team defense throughout spring camp in Gainesville. The arrow continues to point upward for the second-year defender.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 91 Rating | No. 97 Overall | No. 8 LB

Former School: Maryland

Jaishawn Barham is a former Freshman All-American who can play right away in the middle of the Michigan defense. He will slot right into the starting lineup with the Wolverines this year, and if he continues on the path he set over his first two years of college football, he figures to be a reliable weapon in every level of the Michigan unit. His production actually waned a bit in his sophomore campaign, but at his best, Barham was a 58-tackle producer and a team-leader in tackles for loss at Maryland.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 91 Rating | No. 95 Overall | No. 7 LB

Former School: Charlotte

Demetrius Knight Jr. and fellow transfer linebacker Bangally Kamara jumped off the page early in their South Carolina careers, according to 247Sports’ Brad Crawford, and made significant impacts throughout spring camp. Knight began his career in the ACC, transferred from Georgia Tech to Charlotte after playing in 36 games across his first three years, and re-emerged at the power conference level this offseason. He was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference contributor last year when he finished second in the league in tackles with 96.

Transfer Profile: 3-Star | 91 Rating | No. 92 Overall | No. 6 LB

Former School: Alabama

Shawn Murphy is a high-upside newcomer for Florida State. While he never solidified a spot in Alabama’s linebacking corps across his two years with the program, the former top-150 recruit was on an upward trajectory before he departed from the Crimson Tide program. He was mostly a special teams contributor at his first stop but figures to factor more heavily into the Seminoles’ defensive scheme. Murphy logged three tackles across 13 games as a sophomore.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 91 Rating | No. 91 Overall | No. 5 LB

Former School: Oregon State

Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, the top tackler at Oregon State in 2023, remains on the West Coast for his senior season but joins USC as it makes its move to the Big Ten. The linebacker from nearby Mission Viejo (Calif.) racked up 106 total stops last season, logging double-digit tackles in five contests. He and his brother, safety Akili Arnold, are a prolific duo that could help the Trojans make much-needed improvements on the defensive side of the ball.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 91 Rating | No. 87 Overall | No. 4 LB

Former School: Old Dominion

Old Dominion produced two of the top 11 tacklers in college football last season, and while Jason Henderson returned to the squad this season, his former teammate, Wayne Matthews III, cashed in on his big season with a move to the Big Ten. Matthews was one of the top Group of Five players on the transfer market and projects to become a major piece of the Spartans’ defense after he averaged 10.4 stops per game last season. He ranks No. 3 nationally on the returning tackle leaderboard.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 92 Rating | No. 65 Overall | No. 3 LB

Former School: USC

Promising young linebacker Tackett Curtis joined a large group of defenders to leave the USC program at the conclusion of its disappointing 2023 season. As a true freshman, the instant-impact contributor amassed 40 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, a pass breakup, one forced fumble and two recoveries. That production will play nicely in the Big Ten, and it may only be a preview of greater things to come for the former top-150 recruit.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 92 Rating | No. 51 Overall | No. 2 LB

Former School: Arkansas

Chris Paul Jr. promises to become one of the most impactful transfers of the 2024 season as his arrival at Ole Miss signals a step forward for the Rebels’ defense. Improvement on that side of the ball is the recipe for a Playoff run, and Paul has the résumé of someone who can lead that surge. The former SEC All-Freshman team honoree registered 137 stops across his first three seasons of college football, all of which came at Arkansas.

Transfer Profile: 4-Star | 93 Rating | No. 24 Overall | No. 1 LB

Former School: Georgia

Kentucky secured commitments from numerous promising players out of blue-blood programs, and the portal’s top-ranked linebacker, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, is the headliner of those prospects. The former Georgia standout was an All-American as a sophomore in 2022 when he finished second on the team with 70 tackles and led the way with nine stops behind the line of scrimmage. He may instantly be the best player on the Wildcats’ defense.