Cullowhee, N.C. – As Western Carolina prepares for the season under first-year defensive coordinator Nick Reveiz, one position group enters the season with a valuable advantage: experience.
 
The Catamount linebackers return a veteran core that has combined to play more than 130 collegiate games, giving new linebackers coach Ross Pryor an experienced foundation as the Catamounts prepare for the 2026 campaign.
 
"I'm excited about this group because I think we have a good combination of experience and young guys with tremendous upside," Pryor said. "We have some older players who have played a lot of football and understand what it takes to prepare and compete at this level."
 
Leading the room is Ryan McKinnis, who emerged as one of the defense's most productive players a season ago. After transferring to Cullowhee ahead of the 2025 campaign, McKinnis appeared in all 12 games and finished second on the team with 31 tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks.
 
The Buford, Ga., native brings experience from both Appalachian State and Western Carolina, entering the fall with 18 career games under his belt.
 
The return of Blue Monroe provides another boost. Limited by injury last season, Monroe enters 2026 healthy and poised to reclaim a larger role in the middle of the defense. Across 27 career games with the Catamounts, he has totaled 53 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss, while providing versatility and athleticism at the second level.
 
Western Carolina also strengthened the room through the transfer portal, adding veteran linebackers Marco Patierno and Eldrick Robinson II.
 
Patierno arrives after playing nine games at Eastern Michigan last season, but his familiarity with the Southern Conference dates back to a three-year stint at Elon. Catamount fans may remember him from the 2024 meeting between the two schools, when he tied for Elon's team lead with eight tackles in WCU's 24-17 victory over the nationally ranked Phoenix.
 
Robinson, known by teammates as "Draco," has perhaps the most extensive résumé in the room. A former third-team All-Sun Belt selection at Georgia Southern, Robinson later spent time at Wake Forest before arriving from Robert Morris. Across his collegiate career, he has appeared in 25 games and recorded 90 tackles.
 
"We're going to lean on guys like Blue Monroe, Marco Patierno, Eldrick Robinson, and Ryan McKinnis to set the standard every day and help bring the younger guys along," Pryor said. "At the same time, I really like the potential of our younger linebackers. Where they may lack some of the playing experience, they've continued to develop, they're hungry to compete, and they've created good competition within the room."
 
That competition includes several returning players who gained valuable experience a year ago.
 
Joshua Collins, a former running back and local product, appeared in 10 games after making the transition to linebacker. Hank Bodine, whose family name is well known around the program as his father, Tom, is the program's all-time leading tackler, saw action in all 12 contests as a true freshman and continues to take steps forward entering his second season.
 
Additional depth comes from Braeden Barger, Bryce Hart, Beady Waddell V, Trey Berry III, Nolan McClanahan, and freshman Honor Paxton, giving Pryor a deep group capable of competing for snaps throughout fall camp.
 
"We expect to have depth at the position, and guys are going to have to earn their opportunities," Pryor said.
 
For Pryor, however, the linebackers' responsibilities extend well beyond making tackles.