ESPN College Football

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is rolling out his early top five rankings at each position this week.

Here are the positions he's looked at so far:

• Wide receivers and defensive ends
• Running backs and safeties
• Quarterbacks
• Cornerbacks
• Tight ends

Now, we're checking out the top linebacker prospects for next year's NFL draft. Kiper divided things up to look at outside linebackers and inside linebackers . I'm just combing the two to make things easier for everyone.

When it comes to outside linebackers, Alabama's Adrian Hubbard comes in at No. 2 on Kiper's list. Hubbard led Alabama with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season. He has what it takes to be an elite pass-rusher in the SEC, but he still has some growing to do. He has great speed, but just has to stay consistent with his speed off the edge. He's a player who Nick Saban is very excited about in 2013.

Other draft-eligible outside linebackers I'll keep an eye on this fall:

• Tahj Jones, LSU: An academic issue kept him out of all but one game last year, but Jones should start at one of the outside spots for the Tigers this fall. He's been very productive in the 28 games he's appeared in.
• Ronald Powell, Florida: He's coming off two ACL injuries and will be a hybrid defensive end as well. Powell was the top recruit a couple of years ago and had his best spring last year before his injury. He has all the skill to be a top-notch pass-rusher.
• Steven Jenkins, Texas A&M: He's versatile and experienced enough to play both outside and inside. He grabbed 79 tackles, including 5.5 for loss and two sacks last year.
• Deontae Skinner, Mississippi State: He was a little overlooked last year at his position, but Skinner is a player. He grabbed 62 tackles last year, including five for loss and forced a fumble.

As for the inside linebackers, Kiper went SEC-heavy with his top five. Alabama's C.J. Mosley comes in at No. 1 in Kiper's top five, while Trey DePriest ranks second, and Tennessee's A.J. Johnson ranks fourth.

Mosley flirted with leaving early for the NFL this year, but he will likely enhance his draft stock with one more year at Alabama. He can be an extremely aggressive player in the run, but also knows how to drop back into coverage to make plays. He's an extremely smart player and will be relied upon to be the quarterback of Bama's defense.

Joining Mosley in the middle is DePriest, who might be bigger than Mosley but is also pretty good in coverage. He's tough against the run and can get after the quarterback as well. He also puts his strength to good use on the field.

Johnson has really blossomed since arriving at Tennessee in 2011. Last year, he led the SEC with 138 tackles and continued to develop pretty much every area of his game. A lot of people think he could be a first-round draft pick next year.

Other draft-eligible inside linebackers I'll keep an eye on:

• Lamin Barrow, LSU: He's LSU's top returning tackler (104) and he'll take over as the Tigers' defensive captain. He's a very versatile player and can play both inside and outside if needed.
• Chase Garnham, Vanderbilt: He might not have received the same sort of attention as his fellow middle linebackers last year, but Garnham is a solid player. He not only registered 84 tackles last year but he led Vandy with seven sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
• Mike Marry, Ole Miss: He's a fierce competitor and worker for the Rebels. He's become a true leader with both his words and play, coming away with 78 tackles, including 10.5 for loss last year.
• Curt Maggit, Tennessee: He's another player who is versatile to play both inside and outside. He's coming off an ACL injury but should be ready to go this fall.
• Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State: The redshirt sophomore was extremely busy during his first year on the field in 2012, collecting 102 tackles. He should be looked at as one of the top inside linebackers in the SEC this fall.
• Andrew Wilson, Missouri: The old man of Mizzou's linebacking corps has a ton of experience -- and tackles -- under his belt. He can make plays against the run and the pass.

Schedule: The Tigers open spring practice Thursday and will conclude the spring April 20 with their annual National L Club spring game at 3 p.m. ET in Tiger Stadium.

What’s new: Cam Cameron steps in as LSU’s offensive coordinator after spending part of last season in that role with the Baltimore Ravens. Cameron replaces Greg Studrawa as LSU’s play-caller on offense and will also coach the quarterbacks. Studrawa remains on staff and will coach the offensive line. Steve Kragthorpe will move into an administrative role after coaching the LSU quarterbacks the previous two seasons.

On the mend: Reserve quarterback Rob Bolden (knee) and defensive end Justin Maclin will both miss the spring while recovering from injuries.

On the move: Junior La’el Collins will get first shot at left tackle this spring after starting all last season at left guard. Senior Josh Williford will shift from right guard to left guard. Junior Terrence Magee is moving back to running back after playing receiver last season and catching just one pass.

Question marks: The Tigers are replacing five of their top seven defensive linemen. Junior tackles Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson and junior end Jermauria Rasco need to take that next step and become every-down forces up front. Head coach Les Miles said sophomore tackle Mickey Johnson has lost weight and had a promising offseason. Playing with more consistency at receiver will also be important. The Tigers had too many dropped passes last season and didn't make a lot happen down the field. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry will be counted on to make big moves as juniors. LSU also has to find a new place-kicker and punter. Sophomore Jamie Keehn heads into the spring as the punter, while junior James Hairston will have to hold off redshirt freshman walk-on Colby Delahoussaye for the starting place-kicking job.

New faces: Junior-college newcomer Logan Stokes will battle for a starting job at tight end, while junior-college newcomer Fehoko Fanaika could factor in at offensive guard. At receiver, redshirt freshman Travin Dural will be one to watch after injuring his knee last season along with a pair of early enrollees -- Avery Peterson (Patrick Peterson’s younger brother) and John Diarse. Two more true freshmen, Anthony Jennings and Hayden Rettig, will be among a handful of players vying for the backup quarterback job. The Tigers have a total of six true freshmen on campus who will be going through spring practice as early enrollees. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Thomas is a prime candidate to be the Tigers’ third cornerback on passing downs.

Breaking out: In reality, senior linebacker Lamin Barrow has already broken out. He had 104 total tackles last season, but was overshadowed by Kevin Minter. With Minter leaving early for the NFL draft, Barrow will move this spring from weakside linebacker to Minter’s middle-linebacker spot. The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Barrow has everything it takes to become an All-SEC performer. If he sticks in the middle, it just makes the Tigers that much deeper at linebacker. Talented sophomores Kwon Alexander, Deion Jones and Lamar Louis can all play on the outside along with senior Tahj Jones, who returns after missing all but one game last season for academic reasons.

Don’t forget about: Senior running back Alfred Blue returns to give the Tigers one of the deepest backfields in the league. He injured his knee in the third game last season and was No. 2 in the SEC in rushing at the time. The 6-2, 220-pound Blue has excellent speed and also catches the ball well out of the backfield. He’ll team with sophomore Jeremy Hill to give LSU a dynamite one-two punch. The 6-2, 235-pound Hill had four 100-yard games as a true freshman and led the Tigers in rushing. Following a splendid freshman season, Kenny Hilliard was the forgotten man last season. He’ll be looking to regain his form this spring, while Magee will add some speed to the Tigers’ backfield.

All eyes on: Now that senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has a season as a starter in the SEC under his belt, can he capitalize on the improvement he showed toward the end of last season? In particular, Miles wants to see Mettenberger get better at throwing the deep ball and understand all of the throws better. Mettenberger struggled early last season, but he didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers. The best news for Mettenberger was the hiring of a veteran offensive coordinator like Cameron, who’s tutored a ton of quality quarterbacks. There’s no question that LSU has to be more consistent on offense if it’s going to return to the SEC championship picture. How much Mettenberger improves from his junior to senior season will go a long way toward determining whether the Tigers will be a part of that equation.

ATLANTA -- LSU coach Les Miles isn't one for uniform modification, but he and his team made a special exception for tonight's Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The Tigers are paying tribute to the victims of horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. LSU players unanimously voted to honor the victims by having a decal on the back of their helmets that reads "RAV," which stands for Random Acts of Violence. The letters have been stamped with a circle and a slash to represent stopping these random acts of violence. Sandy Hook Elementary is also written around the decal.

Jones starting

LSU junior linebacker Tahj Jones is making his first start of the season at outside linebacker. He is getting the start over Lamar Louis after being cleared academically.

Gary Laney writes : LSU will feel a minimal impact from the losses of LB Tahj Jones and three others to academic issues -- at least for now.

Laney : WR Kadron Boone is quickly becoming new QB Zach Mettenberger’s favorite TD target.

Laney : After Rueben Randle, LSU's corps of wide receivers features a balanced group of talent.

LSU coach Les Miles confirmed on Wednesday that five players have been ruled out for the 2012 season.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on Tuesday that linebackers Tahj Jones and D.J. Welter, tight end Tyler Edwards and offensive lineman Evan Washington have all been ruled academically ineligible, according to a source close to the program.

Miles wouldn’t comment on if the players were ruled academically ineligible.

“I don’t know that it’s fair for me to confirm that, to be honest with you,” Miles said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches call. “There’s a privacy responsibility that I have. Those guys will not play this year. I don’t know that I can tell you the specifics as to why and why not.”

Miles also said that sophomore defensive end Jordan Allen will miss the rest of the season due to injury.

This just gives LSU more depth issues to deal with. The Tigers lost freshman signees Avery Johnson (wide receiver) and Jeremy Liggins (quarterback), and junior college transfer offensive lineman Fehoko Fanaika because they couldn’t qualify academically.

LSU also dismissed All-American and Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu before the season started. Junior offensive tackle Chris Faulk and freshman wide receiver Travin Dural are also out for the year because of injuries.

Jones, a junior, was expected to compete for the Sam linebacker position, but had yet to see any game action this year. He played in all 14 games last season, making one start, and registered 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one fumble recovery. He has played in 27 career games.

Edwards, a senior, has played in 39 career games with one start as more of a blocker and has one catch for 10 yards.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU held its last practice of the spring Thursday prior to Saturday's spring game, and coach Les Miles opened up the practice to the students.

Following practice, the students were invited inside to the indoor practice facility, where they had a meet-and-greet with the players and coaches.

It's Miles' way of reaching out to the student body, and the students' chance to get an up-close view of the team.

Just like the LSU team that went 13-1 last season, this team certainly passes the look test.

Most of the attention this spring has been on quarterback Zach Mettenberger, and specifically, the Tigers' passing game. Miles said Thursday there's no doubt in his mind that LSU will throw the ball much more efficiently in 2012, and a lot of that has to do with the way everybody on offense has rallied around Mettenberger, entering his junior season.

"He plays the game the way I want all of my players to play it," Miles said. "I enjoy his attitude. He's bringing the passing game to life, and he wants to compete on every single play. He doesn't mind stirring the pot, either."

Already this spring, Mettenberger went after defensive tackle Josh Downs in a scrimmage after Mettenberger felt there had been a late hit, and several in the LSU program said Mettenberger delivered the kind of tackle that even defensive coordinator John Chavis admitted was impressive.

Speaking of Chavis, he's losing two first-rounders off last season's defense. Both cornerback Morris Claiborne and defensive tackle Michael Brockers elected to give up their senior seasons to enter the NFL draft.

They will certainly be missed, but Chavis isn't exactly fretting.

In a lot of ways, he thinks the Tigers will be even faster on defense in 2012. They're two-deep at every position in the defensive line, and even though Brockers is gone, Chavis thinks junior tackle Bennie Logan was one of the more underrated defenders on the team last season. Chavis said sophomore tackle Ego Ferguson had also made a big jump.

Chavis really likes the way Kevin Minter and Tahj Jones have answered the call at linebacker, even though Jones has been out recently with turf toe.

"It's the best Kevin Minter has played since he's been here," Chavis said. "He really looks like an SEC linebacker and is playing like an SEC linebacker."

Two redshirt freshmen making big moves in the secondary this spring have been Jalen Collins at cornerback and Micah Eugene at safety. Chavis likes Collins' size and length. He's 6-foot-1 and 184 pounds, which gives the Tigers a pair of bigger corners. Tharold Simon is 6-3 and 187 pounds.

Chavis said Craig Loston was also playing well at safety until a foot/toe injury slowed him.

"Loston was really grasping things, but with him out, it's given us a chance to work several other kids," Chavis said. "Ever since Eugene got a chance to jump in there and work with the first unit, he got a lot of people's attention really quick. He's still learning the position, but he has a chance to be a really good safety for us."

Chavis said junior Tyrann Mathieu would continue to play both the cornerback and nickel back roles.

"We'll have some young kids that aren't here on campus yet that will come in and help us, too," Chavis said. "We like this class, and the linebacker group has a chance to be special. They have to come in here and do it, but we like the kids we signed there."

We move to linebackers today in our postseason position rankings.

Defensive lines are very important in this league, but there are other guys in the box who have to be pretty reliable as well in this league. This league has done a pretty solid job of producing some top talent at this position as well.

You can see what are preseason linebacker rankings looked like here.

And here are our postseason rankings:

1. Alabama: This unit was at the top of our preseason rankings and didn't budge throughout the season. When you have two All-Americans in Courtney Upshaw, who was the defensive MVP in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game, and Dont'a Hightower it's pretty understandable to see why. Those two combined for 136 tackles, including 29 for loss. Nico Johnson was fourth on the team in tackles, while C.J. Mosley added 37 of his own. Alabama's defense was first nationally in total defense and first in rushing defense, allowing 74.2 yards per game.

2. Georgia: Linebackers are essential to any 3-4 defense, and the Bulldogs' group did quite well in 2011. Georgia ended up with one of the nation's best linebackers in Jarvis Jones, who led the SEC with 19 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. He also had 49 quarterback hurries. Michael Gilliard was third on the team behind Jones with 65 tackles. While Alec Ogletree missed part of the first half of the season, the speedster still finished with 52 tackles, including 7.5 for loss. Cornelius Washington, Amarlo Herrera Christian Robinson combined to add 101 more tackles, as Georgia's defense ranked fifth nationally.

3. Arkansas: Arkansas' defense had a lot of bend in it last season, but the linebackers found ways to make plays. Newcomer Alonzo Highsmith was third on the team with 80 tackles, led with 12.5 tackles for loss and had 4.5 sacks. The star continued to be Jerry Franklin, who led the team in tackles (101) for the fourth straight year. Then there was Jerico Nelson, who was all over the field as that hybrid linebacker/safety. He came away with 70 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. Ross Rasner, who played outside with Nelson, added 53 more tackles and two sacks.

4. Florida: The Gators' defense ranked eighth nationally in part because of the aggressive play of its front seven. Jon Bostic commanded the middle, leading the team with 94 tackles, including 10 for loss. Jelani Jenkins seemed to come more into his own outside, finishing third on the team in tackles. The big surprise was Lerentee McCray, who played both Sam linebacker and the hybrid Buck. He was one of Florida's most active linebackers and grabbed 7.5 tackles for loss. Ronald Powell started at the Buck, but saw most of his production from defensive end.

5. Vanderbilt: The Commodores entered the season needing to replace three starting linebackers and ended the year with a very impressive linebacking corps. It was led by vet Chris Marve, who was 10th in the league in tackles. Archibald Barnes had a solid year at the Will, ranking fourth on the team in tackles and grabbing two interceptions. Chase Garnham and Al Owens manned the Sam position and combined for 72 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss. Against conference foes, Vandy's rush defense ranked fourth in the league.

6. LSU: The Tigers were in search of that dominant middle linebacker all season and might have found a budding star in Kevin Minter, really grew into the position by the end of the season and was fifth on the team in tackles. He started 11 games, but shared time with Karnell Hatcher, who finished with 24 tackles. Ryan Baker was LSU's best linebacker, was an outstanding leader and was fourth on the team with 64 tackles. Stefoin Francois was the starter at Sam, but he accumulated just 11 tackles, while backup Tahj Jones registered 27. Still, LSU owned the No. 2 national defense.

7. South Carolina: The Gamecocks saw improvement from this group as the season went on. While the defensive line got a ton of credit, the linebackers did their part in securing the defense's No. 3 national ranking. Antonio Allen spent some time in the box at the Spur position and led South Carolina with 88 tackles and had 9.5 for loss. Rodney Paulk and Shaq Wilson, who returned from injury, rotated at the Mike and combined for 109 tackles. Will linebacker Reginald Bowens added 44 tackles.

8. Kentucky: The Wildcats owned the SEC's top tackler in Danny Trevathan (143), who should have received more national attention. Trevathan was one of the most active defenders around at the Will. Winston Guy played the hybrid linebacker/safety and was third in the SEC with 120 tackles. Ronnie Sneed added 71 more tackles. Kentucky's defense was much more aggressive under new defensive coordinator Rick Minter and got more exotic looks from its linebackers.

9. Mississippi State: Cameron Lawrence was a beast for the Bulldogs in 2011. He was second in the SEC with 123 tackles, and had 49 solo. Senior Brandon Wilson added 94 more tackles. Brandon Maye, who transferred from Clemson, was expected to make a bigger impact for the Bulldogs, but played behind Wilson and was 11th on the team in tackles. Sophomore Deontae Skinner added 69 tackles and Mississippi State ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in total defense.

10. Tennessee: The Vols' top three tacklers were linebackers. The leader was senior Austin Johnson, who finished the season with 81 tackles, including 41 solo. Next were two true freshmen on the outside in A.J. Johnson (80) and Curt Maggitt (56). Both freshmen experienced up-and-down seasons, but were SEC All-Freshman selections. Herman Lathers, who was a projected started, missed 2011 with a fractured ankle, and after the big three, the Vols didn't get a ton out of their linebackers, as Dontavis Sapp was their next most productive linebacker with 20 tackles.

11. Auburn: The Tigers' defense really struggled in 2011 and gave up more than 200 rushing yards a contest. Auburn had to basically start over at linebacker, but lone returning starter Daren Bates had a heck of a year, ranking fourth in the league with 104 tackles. He really tried to make sure he played all over the field last fall. After that, the play was up-and-down. Senior Eltoro Freeman took over in the middle halfway into the year and finished with 58 tackles, while Jake Holland and Jonathan Evans combined for 83 tackles.


12. Ole Miss: The Rebels' defense had all sorts of problems defensively, including allowing 256.5 yards per game and 21 rushing touchdowns. The linebackers took a major hit with the absence of D.T. Shackelford, who missed the season with a knee injury. Mike Marry stepped up at the Mike and led Ole Miss with 81 tackles and five for loss. Freshman Serderius Bryant and junior Joel Kight combined for 122 tackles. Damien Jackson played the Spur and added 64 tackles, but Ole Miss' defense ranked dead last in the SEC.