They are the second line of defense, but that’s the only thing second about them. Linebackers make up the second line of defense and are needed to read the situation and react quickly. And their jobs are plentiful. While the defensive linemen tie up the offensive linemen, the linebackers are versatile players who fill holes, stop the running gaps, blitz the quarterback and drop back into pass coverage. Here’s a lot at five of the top linebackers to watch this high school foot

Photo courtesy of clevelandbrowns.com BEREA — A nice ending could lead to a nice beginning for Ironton’s Reid Carrico. The media covering the Browns’ preseason camp have reported that second-year player Dillon Gabriel has been the most consistent quarterback through the first four days. However, rookie linebacker Reid Carrico intercepted a pass just inside the end zone to end practice on Saturday. The two-time first team All-Ohio linebacker who played at Ohio State and West V

COAL GROVE — Reinhold Messner is considered one of the greatest mountain climbers of all-time. And while Austen Pleasants has never climbed anything like Mount Everest, he’s well aware of what it takes to climb a mountain. A mountain of a man at 6-foot-7, 330-pounds, the 27-year-old Pleasants has fought his way up the NFL playing mountain with eight different stops during his six years in the league. After being an All-Ohio lineman for the Coal Grove Hornets, Pleasants signed