Five defenses to watch in 2020

Earlier this week, I looked at some teams that – based on last season and the players they have coming back- are set up to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/07/five-offenses-to-watch-in-2020/">put a lot of points on the board</a></span>. Today, I am moving to the other side of the ball and the guys who would like nothing more than to keep the scoreboard operator bored – defenses. Here are five defensive teams to watch in 2020. <strong>Eden Prairie</strong> Allowed 10 points per game [player_tooltip player_id="18029" first="Justice" last="Sullivan"] DL/LB [player_tooltip player_id="18058" first="Trent" last="Jones II"] DL [player_tooltip player_id="18168" first="Danny" last="Knudsen"] LB [player_tooltip player_id="1746" first="Tyler" last="George"] LB [player_tooltip player_id="18455" first="Bennett" last="Larson"] LB Tyee Leske DB Leif Benson LB The Eagles are known for their smashmouth style of offense. They succeed by wearing down opposing defenses until they break. That strategy only works if the defense can keep the opponents from scoring quickly. Over the last few years, the Eagles’ defense has been the straw that stirs EP’s drink. This year should be no different. Linebacker and Iowa commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18029" first="Justice" last="Sullivan"]</strong> is one of the best defensive players in the state. Sullivan likely will see time at defensive end too – partly because of their depth at linebacker. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18168" first="Danny" last="Knudsen"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1746" first="Tyler" last="George"]</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18455" first="Bennett" last="Larson"]</strong> form a deep and talented linebacker core. Joining Sullivan upfront, [player_tooltip player_id="18058" first="Trent" last="Jones II"] returns to anchor the defensive line. <strong>Becker</strong> Allowed less than 8 points a game [player_tooltip player_id="18049" first="Brayden" last="Weber"] LB [player_tooltip player_id="18200" first="Teddy" last="Halvorson"] LB [player_tooltip player_id="18201" first="Tommy" last="Halvorson"] LB Mitchel Louden DL Landon Goebel DB Lucas Paulson DB Kyle Millard DB Hunter Klatt DB [player_tooltip player_id="18125" first="Caden" last="Dewall"] DL/LB Like EP, historically, Becker has been known for great offense. In 2019, the Bulldogs dominated on the defensive side of the ball. With multiple contributors returning from each level of the defense, improving on an eight points allowed per game average might be too daunting of a task, but continuing to be one of the top defenses in AAAA should almost be expected in Bulldogs’ country. Although they have talent at every level, their linebacker core might be one of the best in the state. <strong>Teddy</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18201" first="Tommy" last="Halvorson"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18125" first="Caden" last="Dewall"]</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18049" first="Brayden" last="Weber"]</strong> all return and have excellent all-around skills. Good luck keeping track of them as they are just as likely to be lined up on the line of scrimmage in a three-point stance as they are to be covering the tight end or slot receiver. <strong>Fridley</strong> Allowed less than 11 points a game [player_tooltip player_id="18054" first="Cheick" last="Kaba"] DL [player_tooltip player_id="18085" first="Josh" last="Franklin"] DL [player_tooltip player_id="18093" first="Charles" last="Rice"] LB [player_tooltip player_id="18117" first="Micah" last="Newald"] DB [player_tooltip player_id="18177" first="Terrell" last="Davis"] DB Kevin Lee LB Devin Williams DB Michael Ude LB Allowing 11 points per game does not tell the entire story about how effective the Fridley defense was. During the regular season, the Tigers did not allow two scores in any of their games. They held one of the top individual rushers –<strong> TK Marshall</strong> – to 74 yards. Two of the best rushing teams in AAAA – Hutchinson and St. Anthony - were the only teams to score more than once against this defense. I watched the Tigers’ defense in person a couple of times last year, and they had athletes all over the field. Five prepredzone.com standout defenders return this season. The back end of the Tigers’ defense will be tough to deal with – returning all three linebackers and three of four defensive backs. <strong>St. Thomas Academy</strong> 6.5 points a game Simon Kotok LB [player_tooltip player_id="18040" first="Garrison" last="Solliday"] DL Oscar Berg DL [player_tooltip player_id="23687" first="Jamie" last="Smith"] LB [player_tooltip player_id="18169" first="Yenika" last="Fondungallah"] DB Grady O’Neill DB Only Caledonia’s defense allowed fewer points than the Cadets in 2019. Since Caledonia made my offensive list - to highlight more programs – they are not on this list, although they could have been. STA returns one of the top defenders in the state with defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18040" first="Garrison" last="Solliday"]</strong>. It will be tough to concentrate on just Solliday with <strong>Oscar Berg</strong> wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage too. They have experience at all three levels of the defense – returning at least two significant contributors at defensive line, linebacker, and defensive back. They were best in the post-season with their best resume builders against Owatonna and Elk River in the state tournament. They gave up a total of 16 points to the top two scoring teams in Class AAAAA. <strong>Minneota</strong> 8.5 points a game Beau Banish DT Tucker Thooft LB AJ Myhre DB Joseph Rybinski DL AJ Josephson LB Jacob Critterman DL Copper VanOverbeke DB Jayden Gamrak DL I could not find a lot of video on the Vikings’ 2019 season, so my analysis of Minneota is based strictly on numbers and guys who put up good defensive stats according to various sources. Most of the Vikings’ victories were one-sided, so some of the returning defenders coming back this year might not have been starters but got time in mop-up duty. Even if that is the case, if they were not starters, they still contributed to a defense that allowed double-digit points in just three games. Minneota has the potential to be a problem for offensive lines with six returners who play in the box as linebackers or linemen.