Top Defensive Performances: Week Three

This week’s top defensive performers article seems to have turned into almost a complete junior class spotlight article. I love to see it. The juniors in this list, along with the seniors, represent the defensive side of the ball perfectly. Athletes that love to fly around, pop pads, create turnovers, and shut offenses down. Wisconsin high school football is in good hands going forward. Let’s check out exactly what the best defensive performances of the week looked like, and who was responsible for the performances. Will Campbell, Junior LB- Kaukauna Defensive Stat Line: 9 Tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 Sack, 1 PBU Will is turning into one of my favorite LBs to watch in the state. He makes an impact in the pass game by rushing the passer and dropping into coverage and he is so strong against the run. This week, Will showed off how well he can break through multiple blockers to get to the ball carrier to make the tackle. There isn't much wasted movement with Campbell. He mirrored the backs in the backfield really well again this week and showed off how relentless he is in his pursuit. I highly recommend checking out his film. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11403077/5f81b5855cb37c072881e97b">Will's Week Three Highlights</a> Joel Humphrey, Junior DB- Turtle Lake Defensive Stat Line: 3 Tackles, 4 INTs, 1 PBU Wisconsin has so much talent! Every week I find more and more kids that have talent to go around. This week that kid is Joel Humphrey. Joel can be described in two ways after watching his film from week three. Ball hawk and ball skills. Joel has the reactive athleticism and range to always get himself around the ball and he has the hands to turn that right place at the right time tendency into turnovers. Joel had to show off his ability to adjust quickly on a few of the interceptions as they weren't thrown right to him. He had to go get them. His hands shouldn't be too much of a surprise though as he has been a very good receiver for Turtle Lake also. Keep an eye on this guy. I will be now that I have found him. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11342758/5f81ba035cb37c072881ecd5">Joel's Week Three Highlights</a> Sam Haeuser, Junior LB- Racine St. Catherine’s Defensive Stat Line: 9 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 FF With Sam's alignment at outside linebacker he is asked to play in space a lot and to pursue from behind. He does both of those tasks well thanks to his quick recognition and his play speed. That combination allows him the range to make plays from sideline to sideline. Sam even showed off some nice agility on his play where he got the sack. He came through the line untouched after the lineman pulled and then he made the RB whiff on his block attempt and finished at the QB for the sack. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11339069/5f8221e4f56aeb0958b322e7">Sam's Week Three Highlights</a> Tanner Holldorf, Senior DB- Baldwin- Woodville Defensive Stat Line: 9 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF Tanner's film is full of him playing the single high safety role. When you hear that you can expect two things to accompany that film. Great play speed and range. Tanner has both of those and he adds in the ball skills to not just get to receivers and create incomplete passes, but create turnovers. Tanner's #1 trait is his speed. Whether it is at single high safety, playing receiver, or returning punts the speed is evident. His ability to read the QB is strong too. On his film there were several plays where multiple receivers went deep, but he read the QBs eyes perfectly and was able to get to the spot before the ball did. Check him out! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/8325348/5f813bafe97ac60370182dcb">Tanner's Week Three Highlights</a> Alex Fountain, Senior LB- West Bend East Defensive Stat Line: 13 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 1 FF Alex offers some intriguing tools to work with. He has a nose for the ball. He has the size and length you like to see on the edge, but he adds to that some impressive athleticism and ability to play in space. Against the run, Alex does a great job setting the edge by staying square to the line of scrimmage and stopping blockers in their tracks. He can go from that to quickly rushing around blockers to make tackles against the run as well. Against the pass, Alex's first step gives him the advantage over linemen. Even when he doesn't start right over the lineman he has the speed to bend around the edge and get to the QB. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9623181/5f821fedda519908b09ec603">Alex's Week Three Highlights</a> Blake Durbin, Junior DB- Slinger Defensive Stat Line: 4 Tackles, 2 INTs Blake does a really good job of tracking the ball. Both of his interceptions were on deep shots where he had to run stride for stride with the receiver and get to the catch point before them. At the catch point Blake did a good job of going to get the ball and showing off reliable hands. On his first interception Blake did a great job of getting right in the receiver's hip and creating contact to move him off his path to the ball without drawing the flag. He also did a good job of reading the receiver. When they looked back for the ball so did he. It is short film from this past week, but there are things to pick out from it. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4398923/5f8148ec3df4d80bacd4eb91">Blake's Week Three Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="31128" first="Maddox" last="Ambrosini"], Senior LB- Marquette University HS Defensive Stat Line: 9 Tackles, 3 TFLs, 3 PBUs Maddox is everywhere on the field. He can fill against the run, drop into coverage and get himself into throwing lanes, and he has the range to pursue to anywhere on the field. While in coverage, he showed off the ability to read the QB and he also proved that he knows how to separate the receiver from the ball on one of his pass break ups. Maddox is also a violent tackler. He doesn't just wrap up. He runs guys into the ground and he is willing to throw his body around. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10150405/5f81f5bfbd755c0ab8f1c2ac">Maddox's Week Three Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="31241" first="Nicholas" last="Jorndt"], Junior LB- Whitefish Bay Defensive Stat Line: 7 Tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 FF Nicholas is a stud, and I mean an FBS level stud. He has everything you want from a linebacker. His closing speed, play speed, and his instincts are off the charts. He is the definition of a sideline to sideline defender. The range he plays with at the position is second to none. Jorndt isn't just fast either. He brings an impressive amount of strength to his game as well and he pairs the speed and strength together to get through blocks quickly. As I go through my checklist for the position I don't see much that he struggles at. Keep an eye on him and check out his film! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10186992/5f81ebb37bdd950bc4ac9851">Nicholas' Week Three Highlights</a>