Following an incredible 2024 campaign, one linebacker from the Big 12 Conference earned the top spot on a recent position ranking list from Pro Football Focus.
Kansas State’s Austin Romaine earned the title of the nation’s top-ranked linebacker with a 91 overall PFF Grade.
Romaine, a 6-foot-2 linebacker from Hillsboro, Missouri, led the Wildcats in total tackles in 2024. He recorded a total of 96 stops, two sacks, three forced fumbles, and two pass breakups in his sophomore season.
The Missouri native is another textbook example of the incredible job that Chris Klieman’s team has done in the scouting department. K-State was Romaine’s lone Power Four offer, with the next most enticing offers being from Tulane, New Mexico State, and Air Force.
Coming out of Hillsboro High School in the Class of 2023, Romaine was listed as a three-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 1463rd-ranked player. He also checked in as the 86th-ranked player at his position and the 28th-ranked player in the state of Missouri.
Romaine was thrown into the spotlight early in his career as Kansas State sustained season-ending injuries to multiple players in the linebacker room in 2023. The setbacks called for Chris Klieman’s group to roll with the true freshman as the team’s starting middle linebacker. Though inexperienced, Romaine totaled 22 tackles and a sack in his first season of collegiate athletics.
Romaine returns to Manhattan for his junior season alongside a bolstered position group that features veteran linebacker Des Purnell, Ohio State transfer Gabe Powers, and many more exciting prospects.
