Minnesota
Top 20 linebackers in Minnesota high school football in 2024
High School on SI rolls on with our coverage of the top players in Minnesota high school football. This week, we look at the top linebackers in the state.
There are many talented athletes who are not listed, and this list is in no particular order.
The following athletes will be included in a poll for you to vote on who you think is the top linebacker in Minnesota high school football in 2024. The poll will be posted on Monday.
Tristan Holbrook, Sr., Belle Plaine
Holbrook has many accolades. He has been a team captain for the past two seasons, and he was first-team all-district in 2023. He had 110 total tackles as well. He is committed to Bemidji State.
“He is the heart and soul of our program, along with being our best player,” head coach Dave Frisell said. “Great student, great character, great player.”
Lavontae Cox, Sr., St. Paul Central
More notable as a running back, Cox is still a top outside linebacker, and he had 75 tackles in 2023. He is a great athlete who impacts both sides of the ball.
Emmanuel Karmo, Sr., Robbinsdale Cooper
A hybrid edge/linebacker, Karmo has fantastic reaction time to disrupt any offense. He’s the kind of rangy linebacker that modern defenses are looking for in college, which is why he has 18 collegiate offers, according to 247sports.com. Karmo is committed to Minnesota.
Damian Devine, Sr., Academy of Holy Angels
Devine is a great all-around athlete, and he also plays quarterback for the Stars. Devine has 20 total tackles and one interception through four games in 2024. As a linebacker, he shows his range in pass coverage where he might also be valuable as a safety at Villanova, where he is committed to playing college football.
Chase Brixius, Sr., Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Brixius has 43 total tackles in 2024 in just five games. He also has five tackles for loss as a middle linebacker. He fills the gap in the defensive line and rarely misses a tackle. He is committed to North Dakota State.
Blake Schiltz, Sr., Pine Island
Schiltz suffered an ACL injury earlier in his career, but he continues to play high level football for Pine Island. As a middle linebacker, Schiltz can stonewall any runner. He is committed to North Dakota State.
Mason Bosel, Sr., Parkers Prairie
Through his four-year career, Bosel has 2027 tackles, 162 solo tackles, seven sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, three fumbles recovered and two forced fumbles.
“Mason Boesl demonstrates what it looks like to be an outstanding student-athlete,” Parkers Prairie head coach Mike Johnson said. “Mason’s calm demeanor and intense competitiveness make him a good player, but his love for the game, his leadership, and his relentless effort at all times make him a great player.”
Jacob Wrbanek, Sr., Maple Grove
Another player committed to North Dakota State, as a preferred walk-on, Wrbanek has 25 solo tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks through the first four weeks of the season.
Kane Thompson, Jr., International Falls
Thompson is a middle linebacker and team captain in 2024. He had 68 solo tackles in 2023 and four fumble recoveries along with one interception and one sack.
“Kane is a “yes sir, thank you” kind of kid,” International Falls head coach Seth Ettestad said. “He likes to be swaggy, but when it comes down to it, he’s kind, patient, and humble. He’s already big bodied and figuring out how to use it. He’s triggering faster and faster at linebacker. He’s in the weight room every day in the offseason. Sometimes twice a day. I can’t wait to see what he does for us over the next two seasons.”
Dylan Hudgens, Sr., Minnetonka
Hudgens is everywhere for a stout Skippers’ defense. He has an impressive 71 total tackles in six games. He leads Minnetonka with 12 tackles for loss, as well. Hudgens is committed to South Dakota.
Kaleb Weikel, Sr., Andover
Through six games, Weikel is the clear playmaker for Andover. He has 65 total tackles, 31 solo, through 6 games as well as nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Carter Carstens, Sr., Chanhassen
Carstens is always around the ball for the Storm defense. He leads the team with 49 total tackles, and he has six total tackles, 0.5 sacks and one forced fumble through six games. He is committed to St. Thomas.
Zach Welch, Sr., Anoka
Welch had a strong 2023 season with 77 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two sacks. Through 2024, he has 21 total tackles and two forced fumbles while also playing running back for Anoka.
Atlee Hershberger, Sr., Fillmore Central
Hershberger had 45 tackles with seven of them for a loss. He was an all-district team member in 2024, and he is a team captain in 2024.
“Atlee has been involved with our program since the 4th grade as a manager. He is a hard working, physical athlete,” Fillmore Central head coach Chris Mensink said. “He is a leader on the offensive line and in the middle of our defense.”
Aidan Boche, Jr., Park
Boche leads Park of Cottage Grove in total tackles in 2024 with 44 through six games. He commands the center of the defense and has great instincts to find the ball.
Calan Pilon, Jr., Robbinsdale Armstrong
Pilon has great speed on the edge to get to the opposing quarterback. He is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss through seven games with six.
John Pietruszewski, Sr., Hill-Murray
Pietruszewski is one of Hill-Murray’s top players on defense.
“John is a very good athlete and one of the toughest football players on the team,” Hill-Murray head coach Robert Reeves said. “He started as a sophomore on varsity. He’s a three-sport athlete — football, basketball, baseball.
Chase Evink, Sr., Hancock
Evenk is a great athlete who stars as a running back as well. He has 29 total tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks through six games. He is committed to North Dakota State.
Frank McAninch, Sr., Mankato West
McAninch had a strong junior season with 50 solo tackles and 21 tackles for loss. In 2024, he has 40 solo tackles and 11 tackles for loss through six games. He is committed to North Dakota.
Eli Klimek, Sr., Nevis
Klimek is a stats machine. He has 69 total tackles, 48 solo, in six games in 2024. In 2023, he had 134 tackles and three sacks for the 9-man Prep Bowl champions.
More Minnesota high school football coverage from High School on SI
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Vote: Who is the top offensive lineman in Minnesota high school football in 2024?
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Top 20 running backs in Minnesota high school football
Top quarterbacks in Minnesota high school football in 2024
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Lakers vs Timberwolves Game HighlightsThe Timberwolves defeat the Lakers 124-97. Josh Minott led the Timberwolves with 22 points and 8 rebounds while rookies Rob Dillingham (21 points, 4 assists) and Terrance Shannon Jr (14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) combine for 35 points in the win. Donte DiVincenzo put up 11 points (3/3 3PT FG) for the Timberwolves. Austin Reaves tallied 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the Lakers while Dalton Knecht totaled 16 points, 3 rebounds in his preseason debut.
Johansson is facing a “revenge” season coming off an 11-goal lull.
“I didn’t feel like myself last year and struggled,” Johansson said. “It was fun to play tonight. I felt like I had my legs back a little bit.”
As for Boldy, he did rebound after having just one goal through his first 12 games.
He finished with 29 (two away from his career high) but had a record 69 points, a surge that suggested Boldy is just scratching the surface of his potential.
“Just watching the end of last year, you could really tell what he’s become and what he’s becoming,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think he’s — I don’t want to pump his tires too much, but I said it before — I think he might be close to 100 points at some point in his career. He’s just so smart and so big and so strong. He loves hockey, too.
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No family member has spoken publicly since the announcement, so the dynamics of the “thoughtful consideration” they gave it this summer remain unknown. But the family — Carl Pohlad’s three sons and their seven children, presumably not all of them rabid baseball fans — surely must have been tempted to cash out an asset whose value has grown exponentially over the past decade. Forbes valued the Twins at $168 million in 2004, $605 million in 2014, and $1.47 billion last summer. That’s a lot of money in exchange for not having to hear your family regularly excoriated over the failings of a baseball team.
Thursday’s announcement was essentially a casting call for potential buyers, and the family has hired Allen & Co., a well-known broker of sports transactions located a half-dozen blocks from MLB’s offices, to sort through the responses they expect to receive in the coming days and weeks. The firm also figures to have an active list of billionaires who have previously shown interest in purchasing other teams. Though Joe Pohlad has expressed his desire for the team to remain in the hands of Minnesotans, that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker.
Identifying a buyer and settling on a price is only the first step. Assuming the family chooses to go ahead with the sale, MLB’s security office will undertake an investigation of the buyer to ensure that his or her finances and personal history meet its standards. A committee will examine the report and vote on whether to approve the sale, and MLB’s eight-man executive council will do the same. Assuming there are no hang-ups, a full vote of team owners, requiring 23 yes votes from the 30 teams, could be taken next spring or early summer.
They’re a relocated franchise themselves, having moved from Washington in 1961, so fans’ fears are understandable. But it’s unlikely, especially given their stadium situation. As the Minnesota Ballpark Authority, which owns Target Field, noted on Thursday, it “has strong lease and use agreements with the team, having just concluded the 15th season of the initial 30-year lease term.” Several teams have also begun developing commercial areas around their ballparks, and though it’s not easy in an urban neighborhood, there may be some opportunities here attractive to a prospective buyer. In recent years, MLB is also far more reluctant to allow franchises to move than it once was. In the past 50 years, only two teams, the Montreal Expos to Washington in 2005 and this year’s Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas (eventually), have relocated, both the result of untenable and unfixable stadium situations. Target Field is not that. And the league hopes to expand soon, so owners will be reluctant to allow existing teams to claim potential expansion sites.
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