Taking a look at Pennsylvania’s top 2023 defensive backs

We move on in our look at the top prospects at each position in PrepRedzone Pennsylvania’s 2023 player ranking. Today, we move on to the defensive back position that has produced some top-notch talent over the last several years in the Keystone State. The class of 2023 is setting up to be another outstanding defensive backs class, let’s take a look at the group’s top prospects. <h5><strong>No.1 [player_tooltip player_id="27730" first="Rahmir" last="Stewart"] (Imhotep Charter)</strong></h5> There’s a lot to love about Stewart’s game and there’s not much you can say you don’t like. While he may be a little on the smaller side for a Power Five level safety, Stewart plays a physical game and plays much bigger than he actually is. He’s strong against the run, identifying plays, holes to fill, while just playing smart, overall football. Against the pass, shows solid coverage and ball skills while using his speed and agility to his advantage. <strong>Projection: </strong>Power Five <strong>HUDL: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12534153/61946b6c7bde000808258947">Mid Season Tape</a> <h5><strong>No.2 [player_tooltip player_id="139966" first="Lamont" last="Payne"] (Chartiers Valley)</strong></h5> The Penn State commitment Payne has good size and length and his long arms show up in his HUDL highlights quite a bit. Add in his good speed and great coverage/ball skills and its easy to see why Penn State made Payne such a priority early on in Payne’s recruitment. Payne has plenty of room it appears in his 6-foot-1 frame as well to get bigger and stronger which is only going to help him as he prepares to play at the next level. <strong>Projection: </strong>Power Five <strong>HUDL: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12426440/61816ee7b535e00ef81aca76">Junior season</a> <h5><strong>No.3 [player_tooltip player_id="27731" first="Shawn" last="Battle"] (Neumann Gorretti)</strong></h5> Another top-tier Power Five prospect, Battle has good size at 5-foot-11 and 175-pounds while also possessing quality length. He doesn’t have high-end speed but he’s agile and has fluid hips that allow him to play strong coverage. Battle also shows good vision and anticipation before and during plays. A game-changer for Neuman-Goretti at corner, Battle is in for a huge senior season where he’ll look to break into our top-10. <strong>Projection: </strong>Power Five <strong>HUDL: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13434827/61ad1ba402bb48057877396c">Junior Season Highlights</a> <h5><strong>No.4 [player_tooltip player_id="66045" first="Donovan" last="Walker"] (Aliquppia)</strong></h5> Our second safety in the rankings, Walker is an intriguing prospect for Alquippia. He has good height but needs to add on quite a bit of weight. Walker shows good anticipation at safety and does a terrific job reading and reacting. He shows quality coverage and ball skills and uses length to his advantage. <strong>Projection: </strong>Power Five <strong>HUDL: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13750950/Donovan-Walker/highlights">[player_tooltip player_id="66045" first="Donovan" last="Walker"] 2023 Full Season !</a> <h5><strong>No.5 Devon Miller-Ross (Sto-Rox)</strong></h5> Rounding out our top five defensive backs is Devon Miller-Ross. The safety has solid size with plenty of room to add more muscle and mass to his 6-foot-1 frame. He shows fluid hips and good agility that combined with his speed and long strides a great combination in the secondary. A productive safety for Sto-Rox, Miller-Ross is consistently in the play and has a nose for finding the football. <strong>Projection: </strong>Group of Five <strong>HUDL: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13697954/61a7fc39d45e3a032cf95054"> </a></strong>Full Junior Szn <h5><strong>Honorable mentions:</strong></h5> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="64025" first="Jerome" last="Mullins"] (Rochester):</strong> Mullins is another potential FBS prospect but at the very least will be a very good FCS level corner. He has some nice size and length at 6-foot-0 and 170-pounds and has been a consistent playmaker for Rochester.<a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13144274/617ff6d1dfd8020e0037a574"><strong> HUDL TAPE</strong></a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145883" first="Chase" last="Arrington"] (North Catholic): </strong>Arrington is an intriguing prospect with solid size at 5-foot-11 and 175-pounds as well as quality speed with a reported forty-yard dash time of 4.58. He shows some quality ball skills in his HUDL tape as well as good closing speed. Currently, he projects as a Group of Five or high-level FCS prospect out of question. <strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13081834/61a4367ed46905007c2d6634">HUDL TAPE</a></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160523" first="Raion" last="Strader"] (Penn Hills): </strong>Strader has good height at 6-foot-0 but will need to add more weight, at just 165-pounds right now. Strader shows quality ball skills and plays strong man-to-man coverage as well. We project him as a Group of Five/FCS prospect.