With Cooper Edmiston and Zaven Collins leading the way, Tulsa's linebackers in 2019 have a chance to be among the best linebacking groups in TU history.

Edmiston's incredible nose for the football, combined with the seemingly unlimited potential of Collins, should provide Tulsa with some of the best linebacker play in the country.

It starts with Edmiston, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior from Gatesville, Texas, who always seems to be making big plays.

"I thought Cooper was really an All-American linebacker. I thought he should have been first team All-Conference," said TU coach Philip Montgomery. "He had interceptions, fumble recoveries, forced fumbles, tackles for losses, all of that. He had over 100 tackles for the second consecutive year. Coop does a great job for us, and I expect him to have another tremendous year."

Playing the middle (Mike) linebacker spot, Edmiston had four interceptions and three fumble recoveries, forced three fumbles, and had 7.5 tackles for losses among his team-leading 113 tackles.

"You can say it is luck or you can say it is being well prepared and being in the right place and making the play when you have it," Montgomery said of Edmiston's knack for big plays, especially his interceptions and fumble recoveries. "I’m really excited about our linebacking corps, which is led by Coop.

"He understands what we are doing. He gets people lined up. He’s great in between the tackles. He runs sideline to sideline. He's a sure tackler, does a good job in pass coverage. He’s Johnny on the spot when it comes to those interceptions he had last year. Had a few of those this spring that were in the same deal."

Zaven Collins made the transition from Class A football at Hominy to becoming an impact player as a redshirt freshman. At Hominy, the 6-4, 256-pound Collins, who played quarterback, linebacker and defensive back, rushed for 1,520 yards and 27 touchdowns as well as passing for 1,600 yards and 23 touchdowns while leading his team to a 14-0 record and state title as a senior.

"Zaven was a freshman All-American last year, and was well deserving of that," Montgomery said. "He’s a kid that’s got a ton of talent. He’s long, he’s athletic, he can rush the passer, he can drop into coverage. Great tackler. Very, very smart kid."

Collins was second in tackles for TU in 2018 with 85 from the Will linebacker spot. Starting the last 10 games, he led the Golden Hurricane with 9.5 tackles for losses. He had an interception, broke up three passes, and had a forced fumble and recovered a fumble.

At Hominy, Collins had seven interceptions during his last two seasons. He rushed for 4,084 yards and 54 touchdowns and passed for 3,056 yards and 32 touchdowns in his high school career.

"Zaven is what everybody is looking for," Montgomery said. "With him and Coop together, we may have the biggest linebacking corps in the conference. Zaven is a guy who can do so many things. He's so versatile in what he can do and what he can bring to the table. I think the sky’s the limit. I don’t know what his limit is, but it is way up there."

Diamon Cannon returns as the other starter at linebacker, and is a strong player in his own right. A starter in 17 of 24 games the last two seasons, the 6-2, 230-pound senior from Cleburne, Texas, had three tackles for losses, including a sack, in 2018. Cannon had 52 tackles and broke up three passes as the Star position linebacker.

"Diamon had a real productive year. He made plays," said Montgomery. "He's great rushing off the edge. Does a good job into coverage. I think what we are doing schematically fits him a lot better right now, especially from a coverage standpoint.

"Diamon is explosive. Diamon has got to have another good year, and I know he will."

Tulsa has some promising depth at all three linebacker spots that have some experience. Players like Robert Revels, Treyvon Reeves, Grant Sawyer and Justin Wright fit that bill, with varying degrees of experience.

Justin Wright is a youngster who played in four games as a true freshman last season, mostly on special teams, and is still a redshirt freshman. Montgomery is high on the 6-2, 240-pound Mike linebacker from Abilene, Texas, who will back up Edmiston.

"Justin Wright can run. Plays downhill. Just young," said Montgomery. " He will back up Coop. He's got to continue to learn. But I think he has a bright future."

Backing up Collins is Robert Revels, who started the first two games of the year before being injured and missed the rest of the season. The 6-2, 230-pound redshirt junior had eight tackles in those two games last year, including a half tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Revels had played in all 25 games his first two years with 36 tackles.

Also competing for the backup Will job is 6-3, 219-pound Grant Sawyer, who had 11 tackles, including two for losses, and recovered a fumble while playing in all 12 games as a true freshman from Argyle, Texas.

"Revels came back and had a really productive spring," Montgomery said. "And then Grant Sawyer, a kid we took the redshirt off of that played last year. Sawyer really physically developed a lot throughout this spring and is going to have a really bright future here."

Treyvon Reeves and Yohance Burnett are competing to back up Cannon at the Star position. Reeves, a 6-2, 220-pound junior, highlighted the spring game with a pick six where he made a great read and undercut the receiver for the interception off of Seth Boomer and returned it 46 yards for the touchdown.

Reeves has played in all 25 games the previous two seasons, including one start last season. He had 13 tackles, including a sack, in 2018.

Burnett is a 6-1, 223-pound redshirt junior juco transfer from Navarro JC. Originally from Pearland, Texas, he was ranked as the 80th best juco recruit by Rivals.com and was a three-star prospect in 2018.

"Yohance is a guy that can play all three spots," Montgomery said. "Yohance is recovering from the ACL that happened in fall camp last year. I think we’ve got great depth at the Star."

Tulsa also has two incoming freshmen linebackers in Dorian Hopkins and Bershard Glaspie. Hopkins is a 6-1, 215-pounder from Memphis, while the 6-3, 215-pound Glaspie is from Mesquite, Texas.

Overall, Montgomery not only has confidence in his top-line linebackers, but also TU's depth.

"Our linebackers, the way we have it laid out, some of those guys are interchangeable and can play multiple spots," Montgomery said. "We have some versatility to move some guys around and allow them to play. Whether that is dictated by down and distance situations or something else, we can move some guys in and out and still be very productive doing it."

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