Prep Redzone Illinois: 4A All State Defensive Edition

The season is over and we're back at it with the All-State Awards for 8A-1A to highlight these student-athletes accomplishments this season. It was a grueling 9 Week Regular Season and one heck of a road to IHSA State for those that made the playoffs. After reviewing the film of the Top 40 teams in the class of 4A, we're diving into the 4A All-State Defensive Edition. Without further ado, let's dive into it. <hr /> 1st Team DL [player_tooltip player_id="20837" first="T.J." last="McMillen"] 6'3 270 23' St. Francis <a href="https://twitter.com/tjmcmillen44">Twitter </a> Mr. McMillen uses his hands at the point of attack and fires off the ball using his quick first step to slip blocks as well as shoot gaps to disrupt plays in the backfield off the penetration generated on the play. He works gap to gap and disengages block to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain on the play. This young man showcases his power during his bull rush as he drives the offensive lineman back into the quarterback pocket flushing him out off the pressure and can use his swim move to bat hands down at the point of attack getting past the offensive lineman quickly resulting in quarterback sacks/pressures. DL [player_tooltip player_id="248305" first="Joey" last="Ayala"] 6'3 205 23' St. Francis <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyAyala16">Twitter </a> Mr. Ayala uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner and holds contain as he can cover ground quickly as the quarterback tries to escape the pocket to turn the corner. This young man works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. In his pass rush, he fires off the ball using his quick first step to close space between him and the offensive tackle before using his hands at the point of attack to bat hands down before turning the corner getting pressure on the quarterback. If he doesn't come away with the pressure, this young man can deliver the backside hit on the quarterback forcing a fumble on the play. DL [player_tooltip player_id="155331" first="Dylan" last="Burton"] 6'1 210 22' Freeburg <a href="https://twitter.com/Dylanburton_18">Twitter</a> Mr. Burton uses his hands at the point of attack as he works gap to gap a where he slips blocks to disrupt plays in the backfield off the penetration generated. When holding contain he sits waiting for the quarterback to escape the pocket, once this happens he uses his lateral quickness to limit the quarterback to turn the corner extending the play horizontally. In his pass rush, he's able to close space between him and the offensive lineman before batting hands down to get pressure on the quarterback. DL [player_tooltip player_id="196502" first="Elon" last="Mondy"] 6'2 277 22' University <a href="https://twitter.com/MondyElon">Twitter</a> Mr. Mondy works gap to gap where he disengages blocks at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. In his pass rush, he showcases his power with his good push at the piont of attack which results in him driving the offensive lineman back into the quarterback pocket generating pressure on the play and at times can disengage the block to come away with the sack. This all happens with him using his hands at the point of attack where he bats hands down to get past the offensive lineman coming away with the quarterback pressure. If he can't get to the quarterback he gets his hands up to deflect the pass. LB Salomon Dessalines 6'0 185 22' Sacred Heart-Griffin <a href="https://twitter.com/S_dessalines">Twitter </a> Mr. Dessalines is walked up on the line of scrimmage as he works gap to gap and disengages blocks at the line of scrimmage for little/no gain on the play. This young man takes backside pursuit to make the tackle as the ball carrier tries to hit the cutback lanes as well as making open field tackles. When in zone coverage, he can peel off his hook/curl responsibility to jump the route in the flat coming away with interceptions. In man coverage, he's able to undercut the route to come away with interceptions by staying on the receiver's hip pocket. In both coverages, he can get hands on to re-route the receiver thus disrupting the timing of the route with the quarterback. In his pass rush, he uses his quick first step to close space between the offensive tackle before using his hands at the point of attack and slip the block generating pressure off the edge. LB [player_tooltip player_id="170604" first="Sammy" last="Atkins"] 6'0 200 22' St. Francis <a href="https://twitter.com/SammyAtkins15SF">Twitter</a> Mr. Atkins triggers downhill quickly in close space as he works gap to gap and can disengage blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This young man can shoot gaps and slip blocks to blow up plays in the backfield. When in zone coverage, he can undercut the route in his hook/curl responsibility coming away with interceptions as well as reacting quickly off tipped passes to secure interceptions. He's able to get pressure on the opposing quarterback when he comes off a blitz and if he's not able to get to the quarterback he gets his hands up to deflect the pass. LB Jacob Carmack 6'2 240 22' Freeburg Mr. Carmack works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. He triggers downhill quickly in close space which he uses to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner. If this young man isn't able to get to the quarterback he gets his hands up during his pass rush to deflect passes and flows to the ball. DB [player_tooltip player_id="151152" first="Malachi" last="Hood"] 6'2 210 22' Joliet Catholic Academy <a href="https://twitter.com/Malachiloading">Twitter </a> Mr. Hood triggers downhill quickly in close space where he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and plays the alley well where he can make the open field tackle to clean up the play. When lined up in the box, he can work gap to gap and disengage blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage at/near the line of scrimmage. When in coverage he uses his smooth and fluid transitions to stay with his man downfield as he attacks the ball at the highest point and reacts quickly off tipped passes, both of which results in interceptions. DB [player_tooltip player_id="135690" first="Ryan" last="Calcagno"] 6'3 188 22' St. Francis <a href="https://twitter.com/ryancalcagno1">Twitter </a> Mr. Calcagno has smooth and fluid transitions which he uses to stay with his man downfield. When in zone coverage, he diagnoses the play quickly covering sideline to sideline and attacks the ball at the highest point to contest the catch forcing pass breakups. This is also where he can jump the route in his deep half responsibility to come away with the interception using his closing speed to cover ground quickly. In run support, he triggers downhill quickly as he plays the alley well making the open field tackle to clean up the play. This young man can also take pursuit angles to make the tackle downfield. DB/ATH Keshawn Lyons 6'1 155 23' Cahokia <a href="https://twitter.com/KeshawnLyons">Twitter</a> Mr. Lyons gets hands on when pressing which he uses to disrupt the timing of the route with the quarterback and stays on the receiver's hip pocket when in man coverage which puts him in position to make a play on the ball. This is exactly what he does as he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions. Upon securing the interceptions, he changes his gears quickly showcasing his next gear as he sets his team up in good starting field position. In run support, this young man triggers downhill quickly to play the alley and clean up the play by making open field tackles. DB/ATH Jackson Stratton 6'2 190 23' Quincy Notre Dame <a href="https://twitter.com/jjstratton15">Twitter </a> Mr. Stratton triggers downhill quickly to play the alley and cleans up the play by disengaging blocks to make open field tackles. When in zone coverage, this young man stays with his man downfield when covering deep shots downfield in his deep third responsibility and attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with the interception. When covering the slot, he gets hands on when pressing which disrupts the timing of the route with the quarterback. When lined up in the box, this young man can get pressure on the quarterback off an edge blitz. 2nd Team DL Steven Mumaw 5'10 190 22' Sacred Heart-Griffin <a href="https://twitter.com/steven_mumaw">Twitter </a> Mr. Mumaw works gap to gap where he disengages blocks to make tackles at/near the line of scrimmage resulting in no/little gain on the play. This young man uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner to secure the open field tackle. In his pass rush, he has a quick first step which he uses to close space between him and the offensive tackle before using his hands at the point of attack to bat hands down as he turns the corner to get pressure on the quarterback. DL Nolan Obert 6'1 205 22' Quincy Notre Dame <a href="https://twitter.com/nolanobert2">Twitter </a> Mr. Obert uses his quick first step to close space between him and the offensive tackle before using his hands at the point of attack to bat hands down as he turns to corner generating pressure on the quarterback. He can slip blocks and shoot gaps to generate this pressure as well as comes away with quarterback sacks when hitting the B gap hard. This young man can work gap to gap and disengage blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. DL Jordan Cordes 6'4 215 23' Carterville <a href="https://twitter.com/jordan_cordes">Twitter </a> Mr. Cordes works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This young man has a quick first step which he uses to close space before the offensive tackle as he uses his hands at the point of attack. Here, he slaps hands down and turns the corner on the offensive tackle generating pressure on the quarterback. LB [player_tooltip player_id="134816" first="Brock" last="Wood"] 6'1 210 22' Richmond Burton <a href="https://twitter.com/BrockWood_34">Twitter </a> Mr. Wood can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage as he works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle. This young man flows to the ball using his eye discipline which puts him in the right spot to make the tackle on the play. When in close space he triggers downhill quickly plugging gaps and uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner. LB [player_tooltip player_id="132228" first="Domenic" last="Beres"] 5'10 190 24' St. Francis <a href="https://twitter.com/DomenicBeres55">Twitter </a> Mr. Beres triggers downhill quickly in close space where he works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This young man uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner as well as when the quarterback escapes the pocket. When in zone coverage, he peels off his hook/curl responsibility to jump the route in the flat forcing pass breakups. If he's sent on a blitz he can slip blocks to get pressure on the quarterback. LB [player_tooltip player_id="155411" first="Ivan" last="Jones"] 5'11 220 22' Carterville Mr. Jones triggers downhill quickly in close space as he works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This young man can shoot gaps and slip blocks to disrupt plays in the backfield off the penetration that he generates. When in zone coverage, he delivers a hard hit for pass breakups in his hook/curl responsibility. When he's sent on a blitz he gets pressure on the quarterback. LB Peter Johanik 6'0 220 22' Wheaton Academy Mr. Johanik triggers downhill quickly in close space and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This is where he flows to the ball and uses his eyes to diagnose plays quickly to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. He can shoot gaps and slip blocks to disrupt plays in the backfield off the penetration generated on the play. DB [player_tooltip player_id="158008" first="Quinn" last="Colbert"] 6'1 195 23' St. Francis <a href="https://twitter.com/QuinnColbert2">Twitter </a> Mr. Colbert triggers downhill quickly in run support where he can make the tackle on the perimeter after he disengages blocks to make the open field tackle. When in zone as well as man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket putting him in a good position to make a play on the ball. As he does so, he gets his hand in the receiver's basket forcing pass breakups and attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions. DB Jahon Walker 6'1 203 22' Phillips <a href="https://twitter.com/5k_D1Jayy">Twitter </a> Mr. Walker is used in the return game where he gets vertical quickly to set his team up in good starting field position as well as returning a few for touchdowns. When in zone coverage, he can undercut routes in the flat as well as jump routes in his deep third responsibility to come away with interceptions. He also attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions as well. DB Solomon Dawson 5'11 140 22' Phillips <a href="https://twitter.com/ValidxSD">Twitter </a> Mr. Dawson undercuts routes in his deep third responsibility when in zone coverage to come away with interceptions. Upon doing so, he changes gears quickly setting his team up in good starting field position as well as having the ability to return them for touchdowns. When in man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket putting him in a good position to make a play on the ball which is where he gets his hand in the receiver's basket forcing pass breakups. This young man attacks the ball at the highest point on deep shots downfield forcing pass breakups and makes chasedown tackles saving touchdowns. Honorable Mention DL [player_tooltip player_id="155332" first="Nick" last="Seplak"] 5'10 210 22' Coal City <a href="https://twitter.com/NickSeplak">Twitter </a> DL Brock Wiley 6'2 205 23' Quincy Notre Dame <a href="https://twitter.com/BrockWiley10">Twitter </a> DL Jalen Ray 6'3 245 23' St. Laurence <a href="https://twitter.com/SackPapi58">Twitter </a> LB [player_tooltip player_id="155404" first="Michael" last="Rouse"] 6'0 215 22' Joliet Catholic Academy <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelRouse42">Twitter</a> LB Ian Lichtenberger 6'1 215 23' Rochester <a href="https://twitter.com/Lichtenberger_I">Twitter </a> LB [player_tooltip player_id="155399" first="Zach" last="Siebenaler"] 6'1 210 22' St. Laurence <a href="https://twitter.com/siebenaler_zack">Twitter</a> LB [player_tooltip player_id="259550" first="Daniel" last="Berry"] 6'1 210 22' Cahokia <a href="https://twitter.com/Dberry_7">Twitter </a> DB Tajhaun McClellan 5'10 165 22' Joliet Catholic Academy <a href="https://twitter.com/t_mcclellan24">Twitter </a> DB Jaykwon Armour 6'2 150 23' Phillips <a href="https://twitter.com/JaykwonArmour8">Twitter</a> DB Zach Friedersdorf 5'11 160 22' Quincy Notre Dame <a href="https://twitter.com/freak_zack5">Twitter</a> <hr /> Be sure to follow <a href="https://twitter.com/PRZJordan">@PRZJordan</a> regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football as well as <a href="https://twitter.com/prepredzoneIL">@PrepRedzoneIL</a>. 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