There’s no Barrett Carter or Owen Pappoe, recent five-star linebackers to come out of Georgia high schools. The only five-star LB prospect this season is Malaki Starks, the Jefferson quarterback/safety who doesn’t play the position in high school.

Is it a down year for linebackers?

Hardly. All 10 of these have major Division I offers, and most were first-team all-state as juniors, the rest first-team all-region. Four have played in a state championship game, and all of their teams have advanced in the playoffs.

These are the newest members of GHSF Daily’s Georgia Power 100.

*Ty Anderson, Thomasville: Anderson (6-0, 210) has been an all-state player since he was a sophomore Region 1-2A defensive co-player of the year. In 2020, he had 89 solo tackles, 17 for losses. His college favorites appear to be Middle Tennessee and South Alabama.

*Zakye Barker, Norcross: Barker (5-11, 225) had 130 total tackles, 88 first hits, 42 assists and 31 hits behind the line in 2020, leading a Class 7A team to a 13-1 finish. He was a GACA all-state player and first-team all-Gwinnett County. Barker committed to East Carolina in July.

*Stevie Bracey, Lovett: Bracey (6-0, 220) is Lovett’s best pure linebacker prospect this century. He’s been honorable-mention AJC all-state the past two seasons. He had 51 solo tackles in 2020, when he was first-team all-region. He’s also a basketball player, and his grandfather played for the Hawks in the 1970s. Bracey committed to Virginia in May.

*Josh Josephs, North Cobb: Josephs (6-3, 215) had 100 tackles, five sacks and four interceptions for a 10-2 Class 7A team last season. He was first-team GACA all-state. A top-600 national prospect, similar to former North Cobb and current Auburn player Chandler Wooten, Josephs reportedly favors Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State and Tennessee as his college choices.

*E.J. Lightsey, Fitzgerald: Lightsey (6-2, 210) is a top-500 national recruit and Fitzgerald’s best defensive prospect this century. He was the GACA South defensive player of the year and first-team AJC all-state in 2020, when he made 111 tackles with 11 sacks for a 13-1 Class 2A runner-up. Lightsey’s reported college favorites are Georgia Tech and Florida.

*Daniel Martin, Marietta: Martin (6-2, 195) is a two-way player who had 51 receptions for 896 yards and 43 tackles last season on a rebuilding 3-8 Class 7A team. He had 12 tackles for losses on Marietta’s 2019 state championship team. He’s Marietta’s first consensus top-250 national LB prospect. Martin’s reported favorites are Vanderbilt, Florida State and Oregon.

*Malik Spencer, Buford: He’s a top-50 national safety prospect but plays linebacker for the defending Class 6A champion Wolves. In 2020, Spencer (6-2, 195) had 45 solo tackles, six sacks and five other tackles for losses. He was second-team all-Gwinnett County. Spencer committed to Michigan State in March.

*C.J. Washington, Cedartown: By a small margin, Washington (6-1, 215) is the state’s highest-rated senior LB prospect and Cedartown’s second-best prospect this century behind Nick Chubb. Washington is a top-150 national recruit who committed to Georgia in July of 2020. As a junior, he had 10 tackles for losses and six sacks and was first-team AJC and GACA all-state. He also played running back and ran for 698 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 9.6 yards per carry.

*Donovan Westmoreland, Griffin: Westmoreland (6-1, 210) is a top-400 national prospect who had 84 tackles, 12 sacks and 23 other tackles for losses in 2020, when he was an AJC and GACA first-team all-state performer. He committed to South Carolina in May.

*Jaron Willis, Lee County: Willis (6-2, 230) was a first-team GACA all-state pick in 2000, when he had 80 tackles, five sacks and 10 other tackles for losses for the Class 6A runner-up. He’s the highest-rated LB recruit in school history. Willis committed to Georgia Tech in May.

Coming Thursday: Defensive backs

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Protesters stage a rally near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. The people were protesting against the detention of South Korean workers after an immigration raid in Georgia, and many of the signs read "A tariff bomb and workers confinement." (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

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