2025 Senior Bowl Recap - Linebackers

Ourlads' scouts Dave Syversten and Hayden Russell attended the practices, and along with our other contributors, came away with notes on the players in attendance.

Jon Cooper, Dave Syversten, Hayden Russell, Gene Nudo and the rest of Ourlads' Staff
02/13/2025 4:53PM ET
Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Jack Kiser - Notre Dame

Underrated prospect who got his first chance as a full-time starter in 2024. Thick mid-frame with thin arms. Smooth movement skills with good hips. Quick to read and react, with a sudden downhill trigger. Shows explosiveness out of his stance and lateral agility. Excellent range in pursuit and coverage. Solid zone awareness and ball skills. Quick to break on the throw.  Helped himself this week. 

Smael Mondon - Georgia

Physical and athletic in one on ones, good athlete overall. Good zone turn with great hip fluidity. Sudden acceleration in coverage. Showed sideline to sideline chase ability. Flashed take on ability. Has the look of a three down linebacker. 

Jeffrey Bassa - Oregon

Excellent athlete with change of direction skill. Quick downhill trigger with good short area quickness.  Great processing speed in zone coverage. Solid plant and drive ability with the ball in the air. Physical blitzer who creates problems in pass rush. More of a chase backer who avoids or slips blocks on the move. Hand usage was inconsistent as he struggled to come off straight up blocks at times. He can get knocked back too easily. Lacks contact balance. 

Eugene Asante - Auburn

Highly athletic but undersized for an off the ball linebacker. Excellent explosiveness out of his stance. Very fluid movement skill. Can get downhill and fit inside gaps. Processed well in zone concepts and was able to stay with most backs in one on ones.

Demetrius Knight - South Carolina

Good size, length and an ideal frame for an off the ball linebacker. He showed well as a run defender with outstanding inside fits and scrapes to the alley. Used his long arms to separate from blockers and find the football. Decent lateral skill he showed solid range. Change of direction is not great and he struggled in man coverage drills. 

Cody Lindenberg - Minnesota

Nice sized linebacker with above average length. Showed solid tackle to tackle run stuffing skill in inside run and team. Gets downhill and can fit gaps to make plays at the line. Rarely out of position he showed a nice punch and shed coming off blocks. Did not show well in man coverage but did a nice job processing in zone including a nice underneath interception during seven on seven. 

Nick Martin - Oklahoma State

Bulging muscles on a solid frame but is undersized. Good short area quickness with a notable burst when closing space. Covers a lot of ground. Stays square on tackling attempts. Tight hips in change of direction drill. Struggled with punch and shed at times. Not a great take on guy but could outrun and slip blocks chasing outside. Covers a lot of ground in pursuit. Was in on a lot of tackles. 

Justin Barron - Syracuse

Tall and lanky. Former safety that played a hybrid role at Syracuse. Smoothest athlete of his group. Showed chase ability but lacked physical take on skill. Did well in zone coverage with route recognition and reactions with the ball in the air. Work in progress as a run defender. 

Karene Reid - Utah

Undersized with a smaller frame. Excellent chase player with speed to run down the field with some of the fastest running backs. Excellent in coverage, both man to man and zone. Can get covered up by interior blockers but flashed good run fits and downhill ability. 

Shemar James - Florida

Flashed solid play but change of direction was a little slow at times. Showed processing skills in coverage and decent range. Break on the ball was late at times. Patient with reads he was rarely out of position and takes the right angle to the ball. 

Jalen McLeod - Auburn

Good size. Showed nice downhill thump in team. Nice pop on contact when destroying blocks. Decent athlete but lacks great lateral agility. Some hip tightness. Zone drops ok but a little slow reacting.