2023 DL Who Don’t Get Enough Credit

Chris Norcross

April 11, 2022 @ 03:56 PM

While some DL tend to get their fair share of attention, there always happens to be other prospects that are constantly battling to make their name known, and to climb up the totem pole across the state’s rankings. Below, while some of these players have already received a slight bit of attention from colleges, we feel they are worthy of more attention and credit from the state’s high school football fans. [player_tooltip player_id="34061" first="Ka’Shawn" last="Thomas"]- Brunswick While he does not get any of the credit he deserves, we certainly believe that Thomas is an incredible talent. He not only gets off at the ball with explosive legs, but he accelerates through his tackles, and he finishes them through to the ground. We also love the way that he uses his arms and hands to the best of his ability, and he does a great job of separating at the point of contact when engaging blockers. Thomas also has decent footwork, and good speed for his size, which helps him to make tackles in the backfield with ease, as well as along the sideline as needed. He also does an incredible job of plugging gaps, collapsing the pocket, and stopping the run. Expect this upcoming season to be huge for his progression, as we feel he will be a star at the next level wherever he is given the chance to play. Joshua Horton- Langston Hughes Horton is without a doubt another successful DL prospect within a long line of talent at Langston Hughes. One of the things that helps him have the most success is his ability to be light and quick on his feet. He maneuvers around blockers and uses his hands and arms to create separation, further allowing him to pressure and collapse the pocket. This not only makes it hard on opposing quarterbacks, but it creates a huge disruption in the running game as well. He is also very explosive, and his short area quickness proves to help him make tackles with ease. While his bend can be a bit inconsistent at times, we still feel that he has fluid movement skills. If he works on his technique next season, we expect him to take the next step in his positive developmental path. Ravon Johnson- Meadowcreek One thing that stands out right away is Johnson’s ability to pressure the passer. Most of the time, this results in a sack, or a tackle for a loss. Johnson is also extremely fast and fluid around the edge, which will more than likely translate well at the next level. Johnson also bends very well, and he is able to drop his hips, and roll them through his tackles when engaging ball carriers. While he has plenty to learn when it comes to pass rush moves, he has quick enough feet and hands to have success at this current stage of his game. As he becomes a more refined player, we expect him to continue to do incredible things on a football field. If he takes steps forward this upcoming season, do not be surprised if he blows up. [player_tooltip player_id="220718" first="Adonijah" last="Green"]- Cedar Grove At this stage of his high school career, we see plenty of talent and Green’s ability to stop the run. He may not be the most explosive player on this list, but he has great short-area quickness, and his footwork seems to be impressive for his age. He also appears to be a very long, and strong prospect, which will more than likely gain attention of plenty of college coaches. Green has plenty of developmental ability and talent, but we love the way that he finds ways to constantly make plays, even despite the level of difficulty that he has to face on a weekly basis. This brand of consistent, and physical football will take him plenty of places if he can continue to be coachable. [player_tooltip player_id="168931" first="Zachariah" last="Keith"]- Douglas County Not only does Keith play for a team that competes against some of the top schools in the state, but he does a good job of playing against them at a very consistent level. Off of the ball he excels at getting out of his stance, and making tackles from various angles, including making shoestring plays, which are very impressive, although we would like to see him take better angles on his tackles moving into next season. Keith is a very interesting prospect because his burst and explosion leaps off of the tape, but it can be a bit sporadic at times, in which we feel coaching could help take him to the next level in this particular area. It is not a shocker that he’s receiving the attention that he is, but we feel that going into next year, working on some of his technique would help him a great deal.