Ideal weight for varsity linebacker?

[bigL99]

What would you guys say the minimum weight is for an outside linebacker?

[youngblood23]

170 at the least. a good range is between 190-220

[fbdt99]

170-190 pounds but i have seen the job done well at 160's

[bigrodRB]

an athletic 175 would be the mininum if your gonna be a stud

[teriyakisaki]

340

[jhashey]

340

and 6'8 running a 3.9

Or more seriously, depends on your defensive scheme. OLB could be a cover guy or a blitz guy depending on the coach.

[Beastinthemakin]

well it you aer a senior you should be at least 200 lbs are you will not have a shot at playing linebacker in college ball in d-1 schools.d-2 you could maybe play outside linebacker if you had some good skills.but a good size is like 215.

[Cowart69]

Is that all you really need to weight?

My son was a sophmore on varsity at 175 pounds...he is up to 185 pounds right (OLB) and I was worried he might now have enough weight.

he was shooting for 200 pounds before his junior year.....

[Beastinthemakin]

yeah for an outside linebacker.Keep in mind that if he is recruited he will gain about 30-40lbs in college. so anymore you may get moved to MLB.200 lbs is suffecient enough to attck lineman and full backs without getting pancaked all the time. Infact, the strong safety for USC weighs 230 lbs. so 200 is a average size for a top prospect linebacker, or strong safety.

[WillyBHardigin]

Don't let posts that say you HAVE to weigh 200 and over fool you. There's 4 star recruits on rivals who aren't even 200 pounds. Whatever weight you can be most effective with. If you're 250 but slow as a lineman, you aren't helping yourself much. Likewise, if you're 150 pounds, it might not be very easy to play at a high level. It's all about finding that balance. I'd shoot for atleast 170-180, if you can't possibly make it to around 200 before the season.

[youngblood23]

yea our outside line backers were 175, and 195. with a freshman mlb at 205 running a 4.54

[K.Young]

For varsity linebacker i would say 180-200. I'm a sophmore and I play MLB, I played at 180 pounds, and i am currently 200 pounds. My goal for varsity next year, is either add 20 pounds on, or take off all my fat and stay 200, maybe more. Speed is still very important though.

[Bullsfan9820]

yea our outside line backers were 175, and 195. with a freshman mlb at 205 running a 4.54

Whoa.

back on topic, depends what your coach does. Our OLBs usually are coverage, and need the extra speed, and our varsity OLBs are in their 180s respectively. It really depends on your school's defensive plan.

[NickyZ46]

i played varsity outside linebacker at 6'3 210 this year for my school...i got asked by the college if im going to if i can get up to 220 and play strong safety so if your looking for recruitment then you wanna be about 220 to 230 in high school or else you'll end up a safety like im gonna have to do

[FootballCoach73]

being a head football coach at the high school level for the past five years and I have had the ability to send players to D-I, II and III I think everyone is missing the point. It really is not your size... It is your SPEED!! I just had a kid sign with Shepherd U a D-II school. He played inside linebacker at 5'11" 195lbs. He ran in the high 4.5 range. He is now 205 and will probably play at the D-II level between 215 -220. But man can he FLY!!

Now I also had the chance to send a young man to a top 20 football program (Tennessee). They have sent more guys pro over the past 15 years than any school in the nation.

For me this kid was a tailback, rush end, Cornerback, safety and punt and kick return. We basically gave him the ball 20 - 25 times a game and he carried us on his back. This kid was a FREAK!! 6'2" 210lbs in high school. 305lb bench, 420 squat and cleaned 275lbs (he was 17). At the Nike Combine in the spring of 2006 this kid ran an electronic 4.58 and jumped 32 inches at 210lbs... anyway he was our tailback and he was BEAST.. He had over 12 runs his senior year for 50 yards or more that all went for TDs. Speed kills.

VA Tech, UVA, Tennesse, Penn St all offered him as a LB. Everyone said he was too small. There goal is to put 15 -20 pounds on him and he is now a 6'2" 222lb OLB in a 4-3 scheme. He runs like a dear and is the prototypical SEC Linebacker. He also was on all of their special teams last year at around 215lbs as a freshman.

I would encourage you to do explosive lifts (Cleans, Jerks, snatches) and run, run, run... Improve your speed.

Also understand 85% of the D-IA scholarships are offered before your senior year. The kid at Tennessee had all of his offers by June of his junior year. He committed to Tennessee by November of his senior year.

Something to think about.

Coach

[nightrain36]

180-190

[biglb5152]

all you guys ranting and raving about guys being productive at the varsity level under 200 lbs. How tall are these athletes? Because if I'm a running back and I see a 5'10 175 guy trying to hit the gap on a goaline play i'm running his ass over. But if I see a 6'2 180 guy, I'd be more tempted to give im a juke or two (or three).

To answer the question of the thread, you need to be fast and at the very least 200 lbs. 200 lbs. coaches can work with. The key is to be fast though. If you're under 200 lbs, and you're a productive linebacker, they might move u to strong safety.