4 of the Best Defensive Line Units in the State

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. Games are won and lost in the trenches. Today we will look into our final position group of this series highlighting some of the best positional units in the state. The defensive line. My initial thought was to only look at the interior linemen, but I felt it better demonstrated the depth and talent of these groups if we went by the entire group. It is because of this decision that you might recognize a name or two if you read the Best Edge Defender Duos article from this series. Throughout the rest of this article we will take a look into what each player brings to the table for their respective units and then take a look into what their current recruiting interest looks like. Our first defensive line unit is... <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Brookfield East</strong></span> <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="30803" first="Harrison" last="Kielar"], [player_tooltip player_id="31314" first="Brady" last="Frey"], [player_tooltip player_id="30845" first="Ryan" last="Bromberg"]</strong> Brookfield East will be fielding one of the deepest defensive lines in the state as they return three key playmakers. Their defensive end positions will be held down by one of the best defensive end duos in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="30803" first="Harrison" last="Kielar"] and [player_tooltip player_id="30845" first="Ryan" last="Bromberg"]. To read more about these talented athletes and to see what their current recruitment looks like you can <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/08/5-of-the-best-edge-defender-duos-in-the-state/">check them out here</a>! Frey is going to be a major key to the success of this unit. He has a strong and stout frame for his age at 6’0" and 270 lbs with room to continue to grow if needed. The best part of Brady’s film is his combination of strength, balance, and body control. He is able to put those three together to create consistent success against offensive linemen. His film is full of plays showing him play with a strong base, hold his ground, and then toss linemen off of him before making the play. Currently, Frey doesn’t have any recruiting interest posted, but that isn’t too surprising for a player about to enter his junior season. Over the next year, I predict Brady is going to begin to collect plenty of D3 and D2 attention. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Brookfield Central</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30731" first="Hayden" last="Nelson"], [player_tooltip player_id="31077" first="Anthony" last="Whitlow"], [player_tooltip player_id="31221" first="Ethan" last="Boxley"]</strong> Next up we have a unit that contains one of the most talented players in the 2021 class coming out of Wisconsin. That player is Syracuse commit, [player_tooltip player_id="30731" first="Hayden" last="Nelson"]. There isn’t much to be said about him that isn’t already known. Hayden has exceptional size, strength, and quickness off the line. He does a great job of creating separation with his long arms and he is relentless during each play. Syracuse is getting a good one here. [player_tooltip player_id="31077" first="Anthony" last="Whitlow"] is a fun watch on film. His quickness will catch you by surprise because you don’t expect to see it from someone with his frame. He is a compact and strong 6’0" 255 lbs and very light on his feet. The majority of kids that size at the high school level will be a little restrained by that size, but it is a nonfactor for Whitlow. He is so smooth in his movements. A key trait in his game is that he can translate that speed into power. Anthony has shown that he can burst off the line and then drive linemen back in the run game and bull rush them into their QBs lap. As it stands today, Anthony holds three offers from the D3 level. If he can continue to develop from where he was last year I could see D2 interest begin to come in. Ethan will be one to keep an eye on. He is a solid offensive line commit, but he also was a reliable player when he rotated in along the interior of the defensive line. With the graduation of a few DTs, we could be in for much more Boxley on the defensive line. He is built well for it at 6’1" 245 lbs with very long arms and his strength is evident. Especially during his offensive line reps. He consistently finishes opponents into the ground and during the clips of him on defense I did find that strength showed up as he was able to get penetration and cause disruption. While he could be the new defensive piece for Central, I expect Ethan to be an offensive line recruit when the time comes. Over the next year he should become a big target for schools. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Arrowhead</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30778" first="Nate" last="Hess"], [player_tooltip player_id="30885" first="Alec" last="Swinehart"], Thomas Kescenovitz</strong> Hess is the leader of the very talented Arrowhead defensive line. His best attribute is definitely his play strength. He has the size at 6’2" 250 lbs and strength to hold the edge against the run and also to create pressure by collapsing the pocket. At the same time, Hess has enough ankle, hip, and knee flexibility to bend and rush the edge with speed. Nate is going to offer a team at the next level a good amount of versatility because he has successful film of him lining up in the 3, 4i and 5 techniques. The list of offers matches the talent with Hess. He has a handful of offers including scholarship offers from Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana. The D2 interest will continue to grow. Swinehart isn’t quite as big as his edge partner, coming in at a still impressive 6’2" 230, but he replaces that with quickness and flexibility. It is fun to watch him rush the passer. Either he is able to get his hands into the chest plate of the lineman and create separation, or he will show off really nice bend as he dips underneath the hands of the lineman. His athleticism is evident during these cases because his body will be at angles that would cause a large portion of players to lose balance, slip, or fall. His blend of size and athleticism should intrigue a lot of teams. He currently is being offered by Southwest Minnesota State, but that should be just the beginning. There are tools to work with here. Thomas Kescenovitz looks to step into a role at the interior defensive line position as Arrowhead looks to replace a graduating senior. This is all about projection as he doesn’t have film listed to dissect. What you can see when you look at the roster is that he is one of the returning players with the frame to handle to duties of playing at the nose guard spot. Thomas checks in at 6’2" 250+ lbs. I will be tracking to see how Arrowhead goes about filling the nose guard spot and if Thomas can make an impact there. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Marquette University High School</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30742" first="Ben" last="Kujawa"], </strong><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="31128" first="Maddox" last="Ambrosini"], and </strong><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="31244" first="Luke" last="Wronski"]</strong> Kujawa is one of the best defensive linemen in the state. Ben has everything you could want. He has elite size at 6’3" 272 lbs. His strength jumps off the screen. It is a waste of time thinking you can block him with one guy. He tosses single blocks to the side or simply goes through them. It is hard for offensive linemen to even slow him down. He is the ultimate mismatch at the position. Ben also has the speed to lineup anywhere along the line and has shown that he can with success. Anywhere from nose guard to five technique. Kujawa is more than deserving of his three D1 FCS offers. Maddox is one of the hidden gems of Wisconsin. He doesn't have elite size for the IDL position at 5'11" 245+ lbs, but he does have tools to translate to the next level and needs more attention. The first trait you notice on his film is his strength. He has no problem lining up right over the center and then controlling him after the snap. It is impressive to watch how well he can hold his ground and then break free to make tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. It is because of that strength at the point of attack that I am surprised he isn't more heavily recruited. Maddox currently has an offer from Carthage College. That list is going to get longer after another strong season. Luke will be a major key this next season as he looks to fill a much larger role along the defensive line. He isn't coming in completely new to varsity football though. Last season, he was able to get some experience under his belt. Luke is going to be fun to watch develop. His film from JV and varsity last season shows a player with a nice first step off the ball and raw strength to create push and penetration against the offensive line. Keep an eye on him because he is only entering his junior season. There is a good amount of potential here for the D3 and possibly D2 levels.