Southern California Top Defensive Performances: Week 8

Photo: Twitter-Daylen Austin

Michael Huntley October 19, 2021 @ 11:23 PM

Zuriel Eatmon, El Camino, 2023 El Camino had one of the strongest defensive performances of anybody this season against San Marcos last week. They held San Marcos to seven points and had multiple tackles for a loss. Eatmon had a stellar game in the secondary with two interceptions that he returned for a combined 58 yards. Eatmon is a really good athlete who can also return kicks. https://twitter.com/KUSIPPR/status/1441914933583618059?s=20 Austin Grbic, Edison, 2022 Edison’s defense is one of the more well-rounded defenses in Orange County. They aren’t loaded with Division 1 prospects but every player is athletic and knows their assignments. Grbic was outstanding in a crucial win against Corona del Mar. He had eight tackles and four sacks. He is an athletic defensive end and has a matchup against Fountain Valley this week that he should be able to take advantage of. https://twitter.com/DirectRecruits/status/1449292823228862466?s=20 Jaiden Letua, Mission Hills, 2022 Letua is one of the best defensive players in San Diego and performed very well in a big win over Torrey Pines. He plays inside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme. He’s effective as a blitzer and can play sideline to sideline. He had two sacks against Torrey Pines and made big stops in the run game. His motor is great and he finishes plays. Letua got an offer from Valparaiso after the game. https://twitter.com/jordanndwyer/status/1450197466960121858?s=20 [player_tooltip player_id="147762" first="Jordan" last="Ross"], Pacifica, 2024 I first saw Ross at the Mission Viejo passing tournament over the summer and he was competing against Division 1 prospects from much bigger schools. He held his own against players from Servite, Long Beach Poly and Capo Valley. Ross had three interceptions in a close Empire League game against Cypress. He’s one of the better sophomores in Southern California and has offers from Fresno State and Notre Dame. https://twitter.com/SteveFryer/status/1449241134434111491?s=20 <hr /> Other top performers: [player_tooltip player_id="144960" first="Daylen" last="Austin"], Long Beach Poly Kaden Baptista, Villa Park Antonio Barcelos, Rancho Bernardo [player_tooltip player_id="25313" first="Braydon" last="Brus"], Glendora Johnny Chaix, Newport Harbor Luke Crabtree, Ocean View Jimmy Cunningham, Simi Valley Gavin DePedro, Paraclete Cooper DeCillo, Trabuco Hills Jake Fitzgerald, Cathedral [player_tooltip player_id="145257" first="Vaka" last="Hansen"], Servite Jake Higgins, Mission Viejo Mayson Hitchens, El Modena [player_tooltip player_id="186974" first="Blaze" last="Iglesias"], Orange Andrew McCarthy, Agoura [player_tooltip player_id="25227" first="Tetairoa" last="McMillan"], Servite Joey Merritt, Christian [player_tooltip player_id="142003" first="Sione" last="Moa"], Mater Dei [player_tooltip player_id="177005" first="Parker" last="Olthoff"], Portola Gabe Serna, Murrieta Valley Drew Shanley, San Clemente EJ Smith, Warren Will Stahl, St. Margaret’s Alaska Taufa, Summit [player_tooltip player_id="25282" first="Malaki" last="Te’o"], Mater Dei Kharlin Tizeno, Long Beach Jordan Isaiah Tuipala, El Camino Nick Wilde, Sunny Hills Jaden Williams, San Juan Hills Trey Williams, El Toro Kyle Yamano, San Clemente