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RUSTON — Louisiana Tech's linebackers were hyped before the season as one of the best groups in school history.

Eight games into the season, the Bulldogs' starting quartet of Byron Santiago, Barry Robertson, Brannon Jackson and Jeremy Hamilton have made those predictions stand up.

"No question about it," Tech coach Jack Bicknell said. "They can really play. Overall it's probably the best defense we've had in general since I've been here. At this point you can talk about how good they really are."

The Bulldogs are receiving solid play across the board, but no group as a whole has performed better than the linebackers.

Tech's starting linebacker group are four of the five top tacklers on the team, led by Robertson. The senior from Hattiesburg leads the team with 68 tackles, ranks second in tackles for loss with six, is tied for the lead with three sacks and ranks second in passes broken up with six.

"He knows where to go," Tech inside linebackers coach Bill Clay said of Robertson. "He gets to the ball once every three to four plays and it doesn't matter if its a running team or a passing team or a running play or a passing play."

Robertson, who plays the BUCK inside linebacking position, ranks sixth in the Western Athletic Conference in tackles. He also balances family life with a wife and four children.

"Barry is feisty," said Jackson, a first-year starter. "He's not the biggest guy, but he will put a helmet on you every play and he runs sideline-to-sideline."

Santiago, a senior and three-year starter, ranks second on the team with 55 tackles and has 1.5 sacks. Santiago also leads the WAC with five forced fumbles and is a returning first-team All-WAC pick.

"When Byron's healthy he's as good as there is," Bicknell said. "Knock on wood, he's stayed fairly healthy. He can run very well and doesn't stay blocked."

Not surprisingly it is Robertson and Santiago who have been drawing the attention of the NFL scouts when they visit Tech.

"Barry and Byron, to me, are just great players," Bicknell said. "Barry is a great individual person. I don't know how he does it with four kids."

Hamilton ranks fifth on the team with 36 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and two quarterback sacks. The former Ruston High standout, who leads the linebackers with 25 career starts, is playing some of his best football.

Jackson was a highly-recruited player out of Washington-Marion in Lake Charles and at 6-2, 253, adds some force at the point of attack. Jackson is third on the team with 41 tackles.

"Brannon Jackson is a head-banger," Winbush said. "It's like throwing a bike in front of an 18-wheeler. He's a snot-knocker."

Behind the linebackers, Tech's defense ranks third in the WAC in total defense and second on scoring defense. The Bulldogs also lead the WAC and rank 11th in the country in turnover margin with a WAC-best 22 turnovers forced.

"I think we've played pretty good," Santiago said. "We all can run and we all can make plays and that's a good thing."

And as the season has gone along, the Bulldogs have built some quality depth as well. Junior Terence Alexander has come on strong and is sharing time with Jackson.

Redshirt freshman Quin Harris is becoming a force backing up Hamilton and senior Robert Burrell is a playmaker behind Santiago. Burrell has an interception, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

True freshman Chad Beverage has seen his playing time increase behind Robertson and shows signs of being a player to reckon with in the future.

"We talked about going two deep with no drop off, but we weren't able to do that at the beginning of the year," Clay said. "But it has evolved."