The 2022 NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony could include three of the game's greatest linebackers — Patrick Willis, Demarcus Ware and Sam Mills. All three are among the nominees for next year's Hall of Fame voting and all three are part of MaxPreps' list of the Greatest Linebackers from Each State.
Ware is the top linebacker from Alabama with nine career Pro Bowls. Mills, meanwhile, leads New Jersey with five Pro Bowl selections while Willis leads Tennessee with seven.
Florida, California, Texas and Virginia have the top four linebackers in Ray Lewis, Junior Seau, Mike Singletary and Lawrence Taylor. The quartet combines for 44 career Pro Bowl selections.
Linebackers were selected based on the highest number of Pro Bowl selections. If a state did not have a linebacker play in any Pro Bowls, games played provided the measurement.
Every state's greatest linebacker
AlabamaDeMarcus Ware, AuburnPro Bowls: 9
ArizonaTerrell Suggs, Hamilton (Chandler)Pro Bowls: 7
ArkansasMonte Coleman, Pine BluffGames Played: 215
CaliforniaJunior Seau, OceansidePro Bowls: 12
ColoradoSean Moran, Overland (Aurora)Games Played: 120
ConnecticutBill Romanowski, Rockville (Vernon)Pro Bowls: 2
DelawareJamie Duncan, Christiana (Newark)Games Played: 96
FloridaRay Lewis, Kathleen (Lakeland)Pro Bowls: 12
GeorgiaJessie Tuggle, GriffinPro Bowls: 5
HawaiiKurt Gouveia, Wai'anaeGames Played: 183
IdahoWayne Walker, BoisePro Bowls: 3
IllinoisDick Butkus, Chicago Vocational (Chicago)Pro Bowls: 8
IndianaRyan Kerrigan, Muncie Central (Muncie)Pro Bowls: 4
IowaBryce Paup, Jefferson-Scranton (Jefferson)Pro Bowls: 4
KansasGalen Fiss, Stanton County (Johnson)Pro Bowls: 2
KentuckyFrank LeMaster, Bryan Station (Lexington)Pro Bowls: 1
LouisianaIsaiah Robertson, Pineview (now closed)Pro Bowls: 6
MaineJohn Huard, WatervilleGames Played: 43
MarylandJulian Peterson, Crossland (Temple Hills)Pro Bowls: 5
MassachusettsNick Buoniconti, Cathedral (Boston)Pro Bowls: 8
MichiganBrad Van Pelt, OwossoPro Bowls: 5
MinnesotaKarl Mecklenburg, Edina West (now Edina)Pro Bowls: 6
MississippiLarry Grantham, Crystal SpringsPro Bowls: 5
MissouriAndy Russell, Ladue Horton Watkins (St. Louis)Pro Bowls: 7
MontanaKroy Biermann, Hardin
Games Played: 114
NebraskaScott Shanle, St. EdwardGames Played: 133
NevadaKyle Van Noy, McQueen (Reno)Games Played: 99
New HampshireVeto Kissell, NashuaGames Played: 20
New JerseySam Mills, Long BranchPro Bowls: 5
New MexicoBrian Urlacher, LovingtonPro Bowls: 8
New YorkBill Bergey, Pine Valley Central (South Dayton)Pro Bowls: 5
North CarolinaBobby Bell, Cleveland (Clayton)Pro Bowls: 9
North DakotaJ.J. Syvrud, Rock SpringsGames Played: 1
OhioJack Lambert, Crestwood (Mantua)Pro Bowls: 9
OklahomaJason Gildon, AltusPro Bowls: 3
OregonDave Wilcox, ValePro Bowls: 7
PennsylvaniaJoe Schmidt, Brentwood (Pittsburgh)Pro Bowls: 10
Rhode IslandGordon Polofsky, CranstonGames Played: 26
South CarolinaHarry Carson, McClenaghan (Florence)Pro Bowls: 9
South DakotaChad Greenway, Mt. VernonPro Bowls: 2
TennesseePatrick Willis, Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central (Bruceton)Pro Bowls: 7
TexasMike Singletary, Worthing (Houston)Pro Bowls: 10
UtahDerek Smith, American ForkGames Played: 174
VermontRobert Watts, Vermont Academy (Saxtons River)Games Played: 2
VirginiaLawrence Taylor, Lafayette (Williamsburg)Pro Bowls: 10
WashingtonAnthony Davis, PascoGames Played: 106
West VirginiaChuck Howley, Warwood (now Wheeling Park)Pro Bowls: 6
WisconsinJohn Offerdahl, Fort AtkinsonPro Bowls: 5
WyomingBrady Poppinga, EvanstonGames Played: 100
