San Juan Hills' Weston Port, 4-star UCLA commit, voted top linebacker in California by fans

Port enters his senior season with more than 300 tackles, 60 tackles for loss, and 20 sacks

San Juan Hills linebacker Weston Port (13). / Photo courtesy of San Juan Hills Football

There's not a high school linebacker in California who's gotten it done for longer or in more ways than San Juan Hills' Weston Port.

From his first minutes in the Badlands, he was already one of the top outside linebackers – and inside linebackers, and edge rushers/defensive ends – in SoCal and beyond.

Port (6-2, 225) burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2021 with 91 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. By his sophomore year, opposing offenses were fully keyed in on him, but he still totaled 97 tackles, 23 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, 17 QB-hurries, and three forced fumbles.

As a junior, Port transitioned into more of an inside role than as an edge rusher, and racked up 128 tackles, 13 TFLs, and three interceptions.

That gives him career totals of 316 tackles, 61 TFLs, and 21 sacks entering 2024. Port would still be one of the most statistically accomplished defensive players in California even if he didn't play a senior season. But through three games this season, he's already up to 33 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles – his four-year stat line is going to be one for the books.

It's no surprise that by the time Port committed to UCLA on Feb. 4, he already had 33 offers.

Last week, fans voted Port as the state's top linebacker with a whopping 9,658 votes. That was good for 70.6 percent of the polling, choosing from a pool of SBLive's pre-season linebacker rankings.

The two other candidates who received a major turnout in the voting were Sirr Bible (Millikan) and Joseph Kessler (Palo Alto).

Now a Ram after playing his underclassmen years at Los Alamitos, Bible received 1,985 votes to get second place. He's a 3-star San Jose State commit who also has offers from Colorado State, UNLV, and Colorado. Bible isn't the tallest LB at 6-1, but is a high major prospect nonetheless at a hard-hitter at 220 pounds with the quickness and instincts to play inside or out and in a variety of schemes.

Rounding out the top three and representing the Bay Area, Kessler (6-0, 210) got 1,916 votes. After a breakout junior year in which he racked up 175 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles, Kessler is now known as one of the top LBs in Northern California. He also turned 28 carries into 347 yards (12.1 yards per carry) and four touchdowns at running back, and had 10 catches for 124 yards. Kessler is a 4-star long snapper as well, and his pedigree at backer makes him a particularly intriguing special teams prospect.

247Sports' Greg Biggins sinopsized Port's game as follows:

"Port is a versatile linebacker who probably projects best as an inside guy at the next level and that’s where he played his junior year. His first two years of HS ball, he played more as an edge rusher and showed tremendous natural pass rush ability. He has a crazy motor and you love the relentless style he plays with. He’s a tough, physical kid who’s also strong against the run and is a very instinctive player. Frame wise, he’s similar to recent UCLA ‘backer Darius Muasau and that’s why we think he’ll end up as more of a traditional inside ‘backer in college. Port has worked hard on his athleticism and looked noticeably quicker as a junior shooting gaps or running down plays from behind. He’s a big hitter who has a nice edge in his game but also looked comfortable dropping in coverage and playing in space. You love the off the field work ethic and character as well and he’s a player we could see as a future captain down the road."

The Stallions are 2-1 so far in 2024, with lopsided wins over Oceanside and Roosevelt (Eastvale) to go with a narrow loss against Arizona heavyweight Higley. San Juan Hills picks back up on Friday at Crean Lutheran.

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