QUICK HITS
POSITION: Outside Linebacker
HEIGHT: 6-2
WEIGHT: 215
HOMETOWN: Bradenton, Florida (originally from Lebanon, Ohio)
HIGH SCHOOL: IMG Academy
247 COMPOSITE RATING: ★★★ (.8547)
NATIONAL RANK: 735
POSITION RANK: 47
STATE RANK: 102
OTHER OFFERS: Wisconsin, West Virginia, Indiana, Navy, Harvard, Yale, Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Ohio, USF
MORE: 247 Profile | Hudl | Twitter
BACKGROUND
Glackin, one of only two outside linebackers in the class of 2016, comes in as the fifth highest rated commit in the class. Originally a native of Lebanon, Ohio, Glackin attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his senior season. IMG is a high school experience specifically tailored for student athletes, where they can focus on school while also focusing on training. It's also more colloquially referred to as a football factory. A couple of Glackin's teammates were four-star recruits in Clemson commit Rahshaun Smith and top quarterback recruit and Ole Miss commit Shea Patterson.
In Glackin's senior season, IMG went undefeated for the first time in school history and finished the year ranked No. 7 nationally. Glackin averaged 8.3 tackles per game and had 5.0 TFLs. He was also awarded the team's Top Scholar-Athlete award after the season. He received 17 official offers, eventually deciding between Northwestern and Wisconsin, but drew interest from some of college football's biggest names including Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Ohio State and Oregon. Glacklin even received a visit from Ohio State's Luke Fickell. With all that in mind, here are his senior year highlights:
Glackin has decent size and great speed, he runs a 4.5 40, and that's on full display in his highlights. While not shown much above, Glackin also had great ability on special teams. One of his biggest plays of the 2015 season was a successful fake punt against Bergen Catholic that led to an IMG touchdown. Glackin has all the physical attributes desired in an outside linebacker and to make things even better, he's also a second-team all-name linebacker.
OUTLOOK
For 2016 Glackin enters a linebacker group that is pretty loaded at the starter position with All-American Anthony Walker, up-and-comer Nate Hall and returning senior Jaylen Prater. The graduation of Drew Smith opens up a spot in the rotation, but slightly older players like Simba Short and Tommy Vitale will be there to fill that hole. That doesn't mean that Glackin won't see the field in 2016 however. As seen above he has some special teams prowess, which is always important for Pat Fitzgerald. While he may not see many snaps on defense, he has a chance to make an instant impact on special teams.
Beyond the immediate, Glackin should have a bright future ahead of him in Evanston. He has the physical attributes needed and he should have time to learn behind players like Anthony Walker. Jaylen Prater graduates after this season and a redshirt-freshman starting at linebacker for Northwestern isn't exactly unprecedented. Now whether Glackin is starting in a year or two will remain to be seen, but he should almost certainly be in the conversation.