Bay Area Spotlight: Defensive Players

<strong>As we move through the halfway point of the season, there have been many emerging defensive stars around the Bay Area. Below, we will highlight some of these players and breakdown their mid-season performances thus far. </strong> <hr /> &nbsp; <strong>ATH Mason Hallin, Montgomery HS</strong> [caption id="attachment_209215" align="alignright" width="319"]<img class=" wp-image-209215" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-29-at-10.53.49-AM-300x241.png" alt="" width="319" height="256" /> Photo: Mason Hallin Hudl[/caption] A true ball-hawking safety, Hallin is having a terrific Senior season and is one of the most instinctual and sound players the region has to offer. Able to cover the entire field from the third level, he shows strong breaking ability and ball skills, while able to jump routes and displays impressive closing speed on ball carriers. Tough in the box, he can tackle well in traffic and apply pressure from various different angles of the defense while having a strong understanding of zone coverages and baiting quarterbacks into bad throws. He currently is one of the nations leaders in interceptions thus far, with 7. &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>LB Antonio Bernardini, Casa Grande HS</strong> Bernardini anchors the Gaucho defense and has showed he can play outside the tackles and sideline to sideline while able to effectively blitz up the middle and shock bigger blockers with heavy hands and a low pad level. Very smart for the position, he shows good lateral movement abilities and closes quickly while exploding through contact and able to track ball carriers backside and scrap over the top/ takes good angles in space. Although more of a downhill thumper who can plug, he is athletic enough to cover tight ends and backs, and should see increased college interest come his way in the coming months. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id="187290" first="Justin" last="Ibarra"], De Anza HS</strong> [caption id="attachment_209216" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-209216" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-29-at-10.56.55-AM-300x238.png" alt="" width="300" height="238" /> Photo: [player_tooltip player_id="187290" first="Justin" last="Ibarra"] Twitter[/caption] Able to move all over the field for a tough defense, Ibarra is a physical presence in the middle and can not only play multiple positions, but greatly effect the game from all over the field. Displaying ideal closing speed in the short area, he is a extremely physical player that has well timed pressures and plays with a high motor and good toughness while seemingly comfortable in coverage and able to jump routes and cover out of the backfield. Overall, very athletic for his size, Ibarra is a balanced linebacker that will find his home inside at the next level and offers nice versatility from that position.