Week 2 – Defensive Players of the Week

Week 2 of high school football action in Colorado was much like week 1, in that there were no shortages of great defensive performances. While it was hard to narrow it down, here are the three best defensive performances from week 2 action and what made these performances possible. <strong>Players of the Week</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="22696" first="Kevin" last="Sjogren"], Palisade Bulldogs (LB)(Sr.)(85) - While Palisade couldn’t pull out the win, Sjogren had a truly impressive performance in the Bulldogs tight 12-8 loss against the Grand Junction Central Warriors. Sjorgen was an absolute tackling machine as he registered an eye-popping 19 tackles and a sack on the night. Turning on the film from the game, you can see that Sjorgen is reminiscent of the LBs of old, as he stands a towering 6’5 and weighs around 210 pounds. Long arms allow him to make contact with his hands on the blocker first, making it easier to shed the block and stop the ball carrier quickly behind the line. Sjorgen displays a down-hill running style that, coupled with his size, allows him to easily overpower smaller blockers and ball carriers. Good understanding of how to attack the outside shoulder of a blocker to set the edge on a ball carrier, preventing him from bouncing outside. Generates great force, as well as form, at the point-of-contact getting his helmet across the ball carriers core, wrapping up, and driving his legs to finish the tackle. Sjorgen almost single handedly stopped the Warriors offense and will certainly be a name to watch as this season goes on. [player_tooltip player_id="150079" first="Colby" last="Runner"], Severance Silver Knights (LB)(Jr.)(24) - Runner had, arguably, the best defensive performance of any player in the state in last Friday’s 27-2 win over the Niwot Cougars, posting a mind-boggling 14 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. To say he was a truly dominant force for the Silver Knights defense would be an understatement. When you first turn on the film, you can see that Runner fits the mold of a modern LB, displaying average size but exceptional athleticism. Prototypical sideline-to-sideline LB that can easily cover TEs and even some WRs downfield. His outstanding athleticism/foot speed also allows him to buzz and cover RBs leaking out of the backfield and into the flat. Excellent on blitz calls as he can quickly identify his gap responsibility and fill it well. Deceptive pass rusher that has an excellent feel for the timing of the snap count, allowing him to speed past slower reacting blockers. While Runner isn’t a name that will pop up in many recruiting circles because of the level of competition he plays at, he is definitely somebody that a smaller program should take a flyer on. You don’t have that kind of production if you’re not a player worthy of playing at the collegiate level. Donovan Gallegos, Jefferson Saints (DB)(So.)(24) - Despite his diminutive stature, Gallegos is an absolute ball hawk; with his ball-hawking nature on full display in the Saints 40-0 victory over The Pinnacle Timberwolves. For the night, Gallegos had an impressive 4 interceptions (one going back for a touchdown) along with 2 tackles. The first thing that jumps out about Gallegos on film is that he always seems to be in position to make a play on the ball, with this coming as a result of his excellent awareness of route concepts and where the offense is trying to go with the ball. Regardless of his smaller stature, he’s a very physical defensive back that does not shy away from being aggressive with his jams on bigger receivers at the line. Great awareness, technique, and understanding of how to read the receivers eyes in man coverage, knowing exactly when to time swatting the receivers hands with the ball coming in without drawing a flag. Gallegos is even better in zone coverage, with most of his interceptions coming as a result of him knowing when to crash down from deeper coverage and make a play on underneath routes. Gallegos is flying under-the-radar in terms of recruiting and his small size will be hard to overlook for bigger college programs, but if his talent continues to grow with him in the next few years, he’ll be a name to watch.