Prep Redzone Illinois 3A 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 3A, we're diving into the 3A All-State Defensive Edition. Without further ado, let's dive into it. <hr /> 1st Team DL Jake Anderson 6'5 230 22' Du-Pec <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeAnderson597">Twitter </a> Mr. Anderson works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make tackles at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. He's quick off the ball using his quick first step and use of hands at the point of attack to shoot gaps as well as slip blocks to disrupt plays in the backfield. This young man showcases his power by driving the offensive lineman back into the quarterback pocket to come away with sacks as well as pressure. If he's backside on the play, he takes backside pursuit straight down the line of scrimmage to make the chasedown tackle on the play. DL Antonio Richardson6'2 190 22' IC Catholic Prep <a href="https://twitter.com/ajrichardson__">Twitter </a> Mr. Richardson fires off the ball using his hands at the point of attack 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. He can slip blocks and shoot gaps to disrupt plays in the backfield as well as meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. This young man uses his lateral quickness to cover ground quickly limiting the chances of the ball carrier turning the corner as he closes space quickly. In his pass rush, he uses his quick first step to close space between him and the offensive tackle before batting hands down at the point of attack and turning the corner to get pressure on the quarterback. DL [player_tooltip player_id="20848" first="Travis" last="Jones"] 6'3 230 23' Herscher <a href="https://twitter.com/Travisjones8585">Twitter </a> Mr. Jones gets his hands up to deflect passes if he isn't able to get to the quarterback. In his pass rush, he utilizes his quick first step paired with his use of hands at the point of attack to bat hands down as he's closing space between him and the offensive tackle before he turns the corner generating pressure on the quarterback. If he's backside in his pass rush as the quarterback is rolling out, he's able to finish the play by chasing down the quarterback to come away with a blindside sack. 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. LB [player_tooltip player_id="157744" first="Dawson" last="Piper"] 5'10 190 23' Peotone <a href="https://twitter.com/Dawson_Piper23">Twitter</a> Mr. Piper triggers downhill quickly in close space as he works gap to gap and can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain when doing so. He can slip blocks and shoot gaps disrupting plays in the backfield as well as disengage 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 chances of turning the corner and can make open field tackles on the perimeter as he flows to the ball. LB [player_tooltip player_id="155408" first="Connor" last="McCoy"] 6'3 195 22' IC Catholic Prep <a href="https://twitter.com/ConnorMcCoy03">Twitter </a> Mr. McCoy can slip blocks and shoot gaps to disrupt plays in the backfield as he fires off the ball and uses his hands at the point of attack. 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 has good eye discipline which puts him in a good position to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain on the play. In his pass rush, he uses his quick first step to close space between him and the offensive tackle before batting hands down and turning the corner generating pressure on the quarterback when he's on the line of scrimmage. When in zone coverage, he delivers heavy hits forcing pass breakups in the hook/curl. LB [player_tooltip player_id="155417" first="Drew" last="Harp"] 5'11 205 22' Princeton <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewHarp8">Twitter </a> Mr. Harp triggers downhill quickly in close space as he shoots gaps and slips blocks to disturpt plays in the backfield. When working gap to gap, he disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This young man has good eyes putting him in a position to make the tackle on the play which is also how he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. When coming off a blitz, he gets pressure on the quarterback as well as coming away with a sack every so often. LB [player_tooltip player_id="155420" first="Ashton" last="Wassom"] 6'0 220 22' Monticello <a href="https://twitter.com/AshtonWassom1">Twitter </a> Mr. Wassom 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 where he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. This young man uses his lateral quickness when the quarterback escapes the pocket and tries to turn the corner. Here, he triggers quickly as he covers ground not allowing the quarterback to turn the corner. When coming off a blitz, this young man is able to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. DB [player_tooltip player_id="161322" first="KJ" last="Parker"] 5'11 160 24' IC Catholic Prep <a href="https://twitter.com/KJ_Parker14">Twitter</a> Mr. Parker delivers heavy hits for pass breakups while in zone coverage and attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions as well as pass breakups when doing so. He has quick reaction to react quickly off tipped passes to secure interceptions, once he does he changes gears quickly to either return them for touchdowns or set his team up in good starting field position. When dropped back in coverage, he has good eyes to diagnose plays quickly as he uses his smooth/fluid transitions to take good breaks on the ball. This young man triggers downhill quickly in run support as he cleans up plays by making open field tackles on the perimeter. In the return game, he weaves in and out of defenders returning a few for touchdowns. DB William Cowan 5'11 170 23' Unity <a href="https://twitter.com/Will_Cowan_">Twitter </a> Mr. Cowan makes plays in both zone coverage as well as in man coverage. In zone coverage, he gets his hand in the receiver's basket to force pass breakups as well as undercuts the route to come away with interceptions when in his deep half responsibility. In man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket limiting the chances of him being broken off at the top of the route. In both coverages, he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions as well as forcing pass breakups. This young man triggers downhill in run support as he plays the alley well and cleans up plays by making tackles on the perimeter. DB [player_tooltip player_id="252497" first="Brody" last="Engel"] 5'9 150 23' Genoa-Kingston <a href="https://twitter.com/engel_brody">Twitter </a> Mr. Engel has smooth and fluid transitions which he uses to make plays on the ball in both man coverage as well as zone coverage. In man coverage, he staps on the receiver's hip pocket limiting the chances of him being broke off at the top of the route and can jump routes to come away with the interception. When in zone coverage, he undercuts the route to come away with the interception as he covers his deep half responsibility and attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions. In run support, he triggers downhill quickly as he plays the alley well and cleans up plays by making the open field tackle. 2nd Team DL [player_tooltip player_id="65775" first="Tyler" last="Hendricker"] 6'5 230 22' Peotone <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerHendricker">Twitter</a> Mr. Hendricker 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 uses his hands at the point of attack which comes in handy when slipping blocks and shooting gaps to disrupt plays in the backfield. If he's backside, he takes backside pursuit straight down the line of scrimmage to secure the chasedown tackle. In his pass rush, he bats hands down as he's closing space on the offensive tackle before turning the corner generating pressure on the opposing quarterback. DL Wyatt Hollen 6'1 255 22' Paxton-Buckley-Loda <a href="https://twitter.com/hollen50">Twitter</a> Mr. Hollen can shoot gaps and slip blocks to disrupt plays in the backfield as he fires off the ball. 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. In his pass rush, he 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 before he turns the corner to get pressure on the quarterback. DL Eli Swanson 5'11 227 22' Mt. Carmel <a href="https://twitter.com/EliSwanson16">Twitter</a> Mr. Swanson 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 can shoot gaps and slip blocks to disrupt plays in the backfield, this all happens with him using his hands at the point of attack. If he's backside, he takes backside pursuit straight down the line of scrimmage to come away with the chasedown tackle. LB Christian Tellez 5'10 210 22' Mendota <a href="https://twitter.com/Ctellez_52">Twitter </a> Mr. Tellez triggers downhill in close space as he works gap to gap and can shoot gaps when coming on a blitz to disrupt plays in the backfield. He disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play as well as cleans up plays in open space by securing open field tackles. When in zone coverage, he can undercut routes in the hook/curl to come away with interceptions. LB Cody Lunsford 6'0 190 22' Herscher Mr. Lunsford uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner and works gap to gap where he can disengage blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. He has good eye discipline which puts him in a good position to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain on the play. When in zone coverage, he can undercut the route in the hook/curl to come away with the interception. LB Joe Holohan 5'11 200 22' Herscher Mr. Holohan triggers downhill quickly in run support 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. He uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier's chance of turning the corner and when coming on a blitz can disrupt plays in the backfield. This young man has good eye discipline which puts him in a good position to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain on the play. When in zone coverage, he can undercut the hook/curl to come away with the interception. LB [player_tooltip player_id="155406" first="Jadon" last="Mims"] 5'11 230 22' IC Catholic Prep <a href="https://twitter.com/jadon_mims">Twitter </a> Mr. Mims delivers heavy hits forcing pass breakups in the hook/curl during zone coverage and can undercut routes here to come away with interceptions. He works gap to gap where he disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. This young man does a good job slow playing the ball pared with his good eyes diagnoses plays quickly putting him in position to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. DB George O'Brien 5'11 170 22' IC Catholic Prep <a href="https://twitter.com/OBIV_George">Twitter </a> Mr. O'Brien triggers downhill quickly in run support where he can make tackles on the perimeter as well as finishing plays in open space by making open field tackles as he covers ground quickly. When in coverage, he can jump routes in the flat and attack the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions. This all happens with his good eyes to diagnose plays quickly, upon doing so he plants his back foot and triggers quickly by taking a good break on the ball. When in man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket limiting the chance of him being broken off at the top of the route and gets his hand in the receiver's basket forcing pass breakups. This young man also reacts quickly off tipped passes to secure interceptions. DB Issac Urtiz 5'11 160 22' North Boone <a href="https://twitter.com/IRUTHEGOAT">Twitter </a> Mr. Urtiz undercuts routes and attacks the ball at the highest point when in man coverage to come away with interceptions. When in man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket limiting the chance of him being broken off at the top of the route and gets his hand in the receiver's basket forcing pass breakups. This young man doesn't give up on plays either as he comes from the opposite side of the field to make the chasedown tackle saving a touchdown for his team as he changes his gears quickly. Honorable Mention DL Joe Raineri 6'1 215 23' Lisle DL Konnor Thompkins 6'0 225 23' King <a href="https://twitter.com/KonnorThompkins">Twitter</a> DL Austin McDaniel 5'9 285 22' Unity LB [player_tooltip player_id="155522" first="Chase" last="Thomas"] 6'1 180 22' Benton <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasChase06">Twitter </a> LB [player_tooltip player_id="155264" first="Colin" last="Nesler"] 6'4 215 22' Genoa-Kingston <a href="https://twitter.com/_colinnesler">Twitter </a> LB Joel Lee 6'1 180 22' Peotone DB [player_tooltip player_id="155520" first="Deontae" last="Oatman"] 5'9 175 22' IC Catholic Prep <a href="https://twitter.com/Deontaeoatman6">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>. Want to be ranked? 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