In advance of the 2026 high school football season, the Gainesville Sun is honoring the best of the best at each position in the Gainesville area.
After naming quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, we moved onto the defensive side. That began with the defensive line. Now we move to the “quarterback of the defense.” Those are linebackers. After this, we’ll conclude with defensive backs before returning to the offense with offensive line.
Finding players for this list posed some challenges. All six (three first-team and three second-team) All-Area selectees from the big schools from last season graduated. Nearly half did for the same schools as well. However, talent still remains strong at new Sunshine State Athletic Associations (SSAA) teams Trenton and Lafayette, as well as more traditional squads Bell and Oak Hall.
Many of these players listed come from the 2025 big and small school Gainesville Sun All-Area teams. Others come from coaches in an anonymous survey sent to coaches and from MaxPreps statistics.
Here are the top seven linebackers in the Gainesville area.
Zane Mcardle, Trenton
Mcardle’s name appeared in the Gainesville Sun as a member of the All-Area Small School Baseball second team. His exploits on the gridiron as just as successful as those on the diamond. Leading a turnaround Tigers squad under new coach Brent Frye, Mcardle had 91 tackles and three sacks as Trenton reached the FHSAA postseason. Now in the SSAA, Mcardle and TMHS can only hope for more success.
Trevor Byrd, Lafayette
Like Trenton, Lafayette made the jump to the SSAA. This came as a bit of a surprise as the Hornets – under coach Marcus Edwards – have become a consistent Rural playoff team. However, the consolidation of the Rural Class and Class 1A pushed the Hornets away. Regardless, their team is solid this year – with fellow All-Area selectee Trevor Byrd. He had 86 tackles and, in general, served as Lafayette’s Swiss Army Knife. He rushed for 501 yards, received 357 yards and blasted through seven extra points
Fran Kealey, Bell
Bell officially established itself as “trendsetters” this offseason. After jumping to the SSAA in 2024, the Bulldogs lured many other Rural schools to the same place after the 2025 season. Bell, though, will still look to prove that the league runs through them. It’ll do that through a local heavy schedule and the play of Kealey – who had 100 tackles and a spot on the All-Area team in 2025.
Tyler Peera, Gainesville High
As expected, Peera joined his father – Ashour – at Gainesville High. The younger Peera comes to 1900 NW 13th with some championship pedigree after winning an SSAA Championship last season. Another “Swiss Army Knife,” Peera played both linebacker and running back for the Eagles.
Isaiah Johnson, Newberry
Johnson’s name was suggested by his head coach – Ed Johnson – as one Newberry’s top players in 2026. He plays for a defense that sees more experience this season. He had 57 tackles in 2025, including eight vs. Hawthorne and seven in the playoff clinching win over Trinity Catholic.
Zay Robinson, Buchholz
Buchholz lost a couple of key linebackers to graduation after the 2025 season, but as usually, the Bobcats reloaded and retained other key pieces such as Robinson – who enters his senior season. Robinson had 65 tackles, four sacks, a safety, interception and fumble recovery. Defensive Coordinator Chuck Bell called Robinson one of the “most talented linebackers” he’s coached, and a coach “coach on the field.”
Alfonso Curry, Columbia
The Tigers will, once again, have one of the best defenses in the area. All-Area first teamer Kam Mills is gone, which puts more pressure on Curry in 2026. He had 74 tackles and four sacks last season. This includes a standout showing in the 21-0 win over Clay with 12 tackles and a sack.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1, Instagram @Ramreporter and Facebook Noah Ram – Reporter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Here are the 7 best linebackers for the Gainesville area in the 2026 season
Reporting by Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
