Sep 30, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Tulane Green Wave linebacker Corey Platt Jr. (45) and linebacker Darius Hodges (6) tackle Houston Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune (3) during the first half at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Houston Cougars 2025 Football Position Preview: Linebackers

Originally posted on Houston Cougars on SI
By Aaron Raley | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 9:52 AM ET

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Houston Cougars now sit just one week away from their season-opening game against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at TDECU Stadium in Houston on the 28th, and after a successful offseason of reeling in transfers, will look to improve on the 4 -8 record that gave the team a bad rap from the 2024 season.

The team allowed 135.9 rushing yards, half a yard more than the team's offense averaged, and with the new faces at the linebacker position, hopefully that number will go down for the Coogs in 2025.

The linebackers, some familiar faces to the Houston crowd, will also look to drive down the number of passing yards allowed during the 2024 season, with was 188.8, compared to the 152.7 that the Cougars themselves averaged.

The 2025 Houston Cougars Linebacker Corps

With that thought in mind, here is a look at said linebackers that are expected to be on the field in Austin Armstrong's first season as a defensive coordinator.

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Jesus Machado, senior

Machado, a redshirted senior out of Miami, enters his first season with Houston after sitting out the entirety of the 2024 season with a knee injury, joins the Cougars after a successful tenure with the Tulane Green Wave, which in 2023 saw him notch 98 total tackles (56 solo) and an interception in the Green Wave's 36-7 win over the Nicholls Colonels, which also Machado record 10 tackles.

That year, the Green Wave finished with an 11-3 record with, you guessed it, Willie Fritz as the head coach, losing in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship to the SMU Mustangs in a 26-14 affair.

Corey Platt Jr., senior

Another former student of Fritz during his time with the Tulane Green Wave, Platt has had his last two seasons heavily plagued by injuries.

In Tulane's 2023 season opener against South Alabama, he tallied 15 tackles in the under three quarters he played before tearing his Achilles and missing the rest of the season.

His 2024 season after transferring to Houston, reuniting him with Fritz, didn't fare much better, as the linebacker was injured during Fall Camp and subsequently missed the rest of that season, too.

Platt will be looking for the comeback of a lifetime when he returns to the gridiron in 2025.

Jalen Garner, senior

Garner took more of a backseat role for the team in 2024, tallying 17 tackles and an interception, which came in the team's 33-7 win over the Rice Owls.

This article first appeared on Houston Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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