As Last Word on College Football continues its look at the Best Returning players by position by conference, we take a look at the Big 12 linebackers. To qualify for these lists, the players have to be returning from within the conference. They are either returning to their team from the previous season or, if they transferred, it was from another conference team.
The Big 12’s Best Returning Linebackers
3. Lander Barton, Utah
Barton is a Utah Ute through and through. You have to wonder how the conversations about the Utah legacy go at family gatherings. His father played football and baseball for the Utes. Mikki, his mother, was a two-time All-American in basketball and is in the school’s Hall of Fame. Cody, one of two older brothers, played for Utah for four years in the Pac-12 and is now with the Tennessee Titans in the NFL. Brother Jackson was All-Pac-12 at Utah and is now an offensive lineman for the Las Vegas Raiders. His sister, Dani, is the all-time leader in career kills for Utah volleyball. She was a four-time All-American from 2017-2021.
That gets us to Lander. He is in his fourth year with the Utes. The only thing preventing him from having played in every game over his career is a knee injury in 2023 that cost him the last five games of the season.
Barton came back in 2024 with vengeance. He totaled 72 tackles, including five for loss. He also had two sacks and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was a pick-six for 87 yards against Iowa State. He also had one fumble recovery.
Barton was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 team in 2024.
2. Keyshaun Elliott, Arizona State
The rising junior from Missouri will be in his second season for the Sun Devils. He spent his first two seasons at New Mexico State before transferring to ASU for the 2024 season.
He made his mark immediately as the key to Kenny Dillingham’s revamped defense, built through the portal.
Elliott was named a second-team All-Big 12 selection in his first season with the Sun Devils. He finished the season with 65 tackles, four tackles for a loss, two sacks, one interception, two breakups, and two quarterback hurries. Elliott had a season-high 12 tackles in the 31-28 non-conference win at Texas State. He added another eight tackles in the College Football Playoff game against Texas.
Elliott comes by the football acumen naturally. His cousin Linval Elliott played in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers, winning Super Bowl 16 with the latter.
1. Isaiah Glasker, BYU
The transformation over the years for Glasker makes his place on this list all the more impressive. He came out of high school as a receiver/defensive back. He began his career in Provo as a safety and redshirted in 2022. With his physical development, he bulked up to linebacker size.
In 2023, he appeared in eight games and had a total of three tackles. And then 2024 came around on the calendar, and he exploded. At 6′-5″, 235 pounds, he led the Big 12 in tackles-for-loss in 2024 with 14.5. He led BYU with 70 total tackles. He also tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
Glasker was named the Chuck Bednarik National Player of the Week after the Arizona game. He had five tackles (all solo), a sack, a tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble, an interception, a pick-six, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hurries.
He finished the year as a Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American. Glasker was the Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP with eight tackles, a tackle-for-loss, and an interception in the win over Colorado. He gave thought to the 2025 NFL Draft but ultimately decided to return to BYU for the season.
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