2025 Watch List: 5 Up and Coming DL
On the defensive side of the ball, it is always fun to track players who have a high upside. Playing defense is hard enough, but being able to excel at a young age is even more impressive. Even more than…
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Continue ReadingOn the defensive side of the ball, it is always fun to track players who have a high upside. Playing defense is hard enough, but being able to excel at a young age is even more impressive. Even more than this, being a stand out defensive linemen at this age is even harder to do, especially due to the physical development of younger players, compared to upperclassmen players. Even despite these hurdles, there still happens to be players who find ways to excel, and stand out. Below, we listed a few prospects worth checking out, as they are certainly on the rise.
Jonathan Hinnant– Hunt
Hinnant has plenty of upside in his game already, which is very impressive due to how young he is. He not only has the ideal frame, and length that you would like to see out of a DE his age, but he does a good job at getting off of the ball from various stances, and using his hands, and pass rush moves to maneuver through offensive linemen. Hinnant also proves to be very explosive and does not have an issue with wrapping up on tackles, regardless of the angle. We have no doubt that he will receive more attention as he develops, but we certainly believe that adding weight to his frame, and working on the way he rolls his hips, and rips off of blocks at times will certainly take him to the next level.
Hector Bautista Hector Bautista 5'9" | 210 lbs | DL Seventy-First | 2025 State NC – Twenty-First
Hector may not be the biggest DL on this list, but he certainly has the width, and explosion you would like to see out of an interior lineman. Because of this, and the way he plays with physicality, it is quite easy for him to come off of the ball and force pressures, and fumbles, making him a playmaker for his defense. Bautista also does a great job of playing instinctual football, causing him to swarm to the ball, regardless of where it is, and whatever fighting, and clawing it takes with his hands and arms in pass rush to get to the ball carrier. This tenacity has already made him a great player, and we fully expect him to get more attention from prospective colleges as the years go by.
Brycen Wright- South Granville
Brycen Wright may have plenty of development ahead of him at the DT position, but we see flashes of talent within his game at this point of time regardless. For example, he does a good job of plugging gaps, and using his hands, and raw strength to push the pocket. When ball carriers make their way near Wright, they typically do not make it that far, as he does a great job of wrapping up on them, and catching them in the middle of the line before making it to the second level. One thing we would like to see more of from him next season is an improvement in his bend, and explosive ability.
Taeshawn Alston- Vance County
We look forward to seeing Alston take on more playing time as the years go by, and we fully expect him to become one of the top defensive linemen within his region when it is all said and done. This is largely due to the way he flies around the football field with fluid movement skills, good bend, and explosive ability off of the ball, as well as when he rolls his hips on contact. Alston also has a wide, long frame, which makes it easier for him to make plays and tackles from more difficult tackling angles. While his feet are a bit raw at this time, and his speed is not where we would like it to be, we certainly feel that he can improve in these things as the years go by.
JQ Carr- Eastern Wayne
While there is not much tape out there on Carr, he presented plenty of flashes of talent last season that proved that he was more than worthy of making our up and coming DL list for his class. To start, he totaled around 50 tackles last year, and also forced a fumble due to the physicality that he plays with. Carr also does a great job of playing light on his feet, thus swarming to the football, which ultimately results in plenty of plays inside, and outside of the box. Carr’s ability to use his hands, and explode off of the ball can also be seen to be effective for him, also helping him to achieve the 12 sacks that he totaled last year. Due to his level of accomplishments at this point, we expect him to only continue to develop, including within his movement skills and explosive ability.