2026 Kentucky Wildcats football position preview: Linebacker

We are gearing up for the first season of the Will Stein era with the Kentucky Wildcats. After going through the offensive side of the ball position by position to see how the project in the 2026 season, we continue on the defensive side of the football. We have covered the defensive line, which surprisingly has the most depth of any position group on the roster. Now, we turn our attention to the linebacker room.

Starters

• Grant Godfrey
• Elijah "Bo" Barnes

Grant Godfrey returns to the Wildcats after a strong season a year ago. Despite only starting in two games late in the year, Godfrey was a rotational linebacker that appeared in all 12 games. He totaled 34 tackles and two tackles for loss. He can move sideline to sideline, which is a trend in this current room, and Godfrey is expected to be the leader of this group in 2026.

Bo Barnes comes over from Texas after a redshirt season and was recently a highly touted linebacker prospect coming out of high school where he was a top five linebacker according to On3, Rivals and 247Sports. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp at Texas tried to get Barnes back in burnt orange after he entered the portal, but Stein and his staff moved quickly. The staff is expecting Barnes to live up to his prospect rating and become an immediate impact on the defense.

At 6'1, 244-pounds, Barnes moves quick for his size. In the four games he appeared in for the Longhorns last season, he recorded four tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack. He will be a mismatch on delayed blitzes and sim pressures. He without a doubt has the highest ceiling of any player in this room.

Backups

• Antwan Smith