Football | 8/3/2026 10:40:00 PM

August 3, 2026-Emporia State returns a deep linebacking room led by the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and consensus All-American Landon Boss.

Boss was a finalist for the Ken B. Jones Award as the top male student-athlete in the MIAA.  Last season he earned First-Team All-American honors from the AFCA, D2CCA, AP, Don Hansen Football Committee, and Walter Camp Football Foundation and was named Second-Team All-American by D2Football.com. Boss was a unanimous selection as a First-Team All-MIAA linebacker, while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in the Association. The Osage City, Kan. native tallied 101 tackles on the season, which included ten sacks, 11 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and a defensive touchdown.  He led the MIAA in sacks and tackles for loss while ranking second in the league in solo tackles and fourth in total tackles.  His 69 solo tackles were the fifth most in the nation, his 17.5 tackles for loss ranked sixth in the nation while his ten sacks were 12th in the nation. 
 
Boss is not alone among the experienced linebackers. Gabe Booker was named Honorable Mention All-MIAA at linebacker. The St. Louis, Mo. native recorded 53 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss on the season. He had a career-best nine solo tackles against Angelo State, the first of five games with five or more total tackles on the season.

Jaxson Bowles played in eight games last year with three starts last season.  The senior from Manhattan, Kan. recorded 14 tackles, seven of them unassisted.
 
Devon Owen played in ten games last season.  The sophomore from Argyle, Texas was credited with 17 tackles, three for a loss including two sacks.
 
Chance Clements and Gabe Roland each suffered season ending injuries early last year.  Clements came to Emporia State from Oklahoma State where he saw action in 26 games while Roland is a transfer from Kansas State.


 
LINEBACKER NOTES:
There are three seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and three true freshman listed among the 14 linebackers.
11 of the 14 linebackers are in at least their second year with the Hornets.
Five of the linebackers are from Oklahoma, four are from Kansas, four are from Missouri, and one is from Texas.

LINEBACKER

6	Landon Boss	LB	6-1	228	Sr.	Osage City, KS	Osage City HS	Butler CC
12	Gabe Roland	LB	6-1	228	R-So.	Newkirk, OK	Ponca City HS	Kansas State
17	Gabe Booker	LB	6-1	218	Sr.	St. Louis, MO	St. Mary's HS	Southwest Baptist
20	Devon Owen	LB	6-0	210	R-So.	Argyle, TX	Argyle HS	Oklahoma
23	Jaxon Bowles	LB	6-2	232	Sr.	Manhattan, KS	Manhattan HS	Butler CC
31	Chance Clements	LB	6-1	229	R-Jr.	Stillwater, OK	Stillwater HS	Oklahoma State
32	Trey Hardin	LB	6-1	223	R-Fr.	Neosho, MO	Neosho HS
33	Anthony Thompson	LB	5-11	212	R-Fr.	Buckner, MO	Fort Osage HS
34	Jake Tucker	LB	6-1	222	R-Jr.	Tuttle, OK	Tuttle HS
42	Kash Guthmueller	LB	5-11	212	R-Fr.	Purcell, OK	Washington HS
47	Brayden Bush	LB	6-0	226	R-So.	Pleasant Hill, MO	Pleasant Hill HS
	Cooper McGowan	LB	6-1	185	Fr.	Ellsworth, KS	Ellsworth HS
	Kasen Parsons	LB	6-1	215	Fr.	Osage City, KS	Osage City HS
	LeBron Royal	LB	6-1	212	Fr.	Midwest City, OK	Carl Albert HS

This is the first part of an eight-part series of position previews for the Emporia State football team. Yesterday the summer strength and conditioning program was featured and tomorrow the defensive backs will be at the podium.
Landon Boss, Gabe Booker, Chance Clements and Gabe Roland along with linebacker coach Cade Harelson and head coach Garin Higgins will be available after practice on Tuesday, August 3 in the interview tent.