New York's Top 5 Corners and Safeties to know this Fall

Here I will highlight 5 of the best athletes in the defensive secondary. These young men fill the shoes of one of the most difficult positions in football. As a DB, we are tasked with covering receivers who are attacking any open grass on the field, so your eyes have to see the receiver, quarterback, and have peripheral vision and field awareness to make any adjustments in less than tenth of a second. Athletic ability, football IQ, mental strength, patience, and quick decision making are just a few traits that are required of this position at a much more elite level than some others. Here are 5 young men across the state of New York who embody all the requirements and add their own unique versatility:   DB/WR Jayden Lewis, Bennett HS, 2023 Jayden is 5’10 190 and a very intelligent corner who seems to have an uncanny ability to find the ball. With 12 interceptions in his junior year (tied for 2nd in the country) he is leading the state of New York in INTs and catching the eye of multiple D1 schools. Primarily scoring touchdowns as a defender (7 INT returns and 1 FR), he also lines up at receiver totaling 508 yards and 5 TDs. Having experience as a receiver adds to his great football knowledge because he recognizes route combinations and this enables him to play a sort of cat-and-mouse game with receivers and QBs, disguising his coverages. He has great eyes recognizing run or pass plays and great awareness to know where his defensive help is and can use that 4.3-like speed closing in on the ball snatching it away from ball wide outs before they have a chance. Jayden totaled 74 tackles in his 2021 junior year and can line up to rush the QB throwing off the timing of throws. As he works this offseason to develop his body and game, this ball hawk should be the top recruited defensive back in the country and any D1 program would be lucky to have him.   DB [player_tooltip player_id="227603" first="Ellis" last="Robinson IV"], Iona Prep, 2024 Ellis is well built at 6’0 175 pounds, who plays physical and gives relentless effort every play. He is strong with long limbs, has great ability to turn his hips, and above average downhill speed. In his sophomore year tenure he has 45 tackles (18 solo) snd 1 fumble returned for touchdown. In the pass game, he does a great job staying on top of his man on just about any route that’s thrown at him. He has great instincts to recognize run or pass plays with strong hands to high point and snag ball away from receivers, tallying 8 interceptions in his 2021 sophomore season (T-3rd most in New York). He is excellent in the run game, able to get off of blocks and tackle the ball carrier saving multiple touchdowns and forcing fumbles. A strong man-to-man defender jamming receivers and knocking them off their routes, Ellis can adjust and play any coverage.   FS/DB Conor Fitzgibbon, Monroe-Woodbury HS, 2023 Conor stands 6’0 and weighs just a little over 170 pounds. He is a very smart player who has great pre [caption id="attachment_316141" align="alignright" width="198"]<img class=" wp-image-316141" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/04/TBc4T3dH.jpg-small-237x300.jpeg" alt="" width="198" height="250" /> Photo: William Dimmit , Flickr[/caption] snap recognition and ability to adjust coverage to any play. His 5 interceptions in his 2021 junior year shows not just how cerebral he is, but also athletic enough to break off of routes with good timing to make a play on the ball in the air. Also, he is an elite tackler with 44 for the season (26 solo). He plays very well in zone but also shows ability to play man if needed and excellent in run support. Overall Conor is a very dependable presence at the top of the defense rarely allowing any play to get beyond him. Using excellent vision and great football smarts, combined with developing his body to be bigger stronger and even faster this offseason, Conor could very well much have multiple offers this fall and we can expect a senior season to solidify his greatness.   FS/CB Donald Jones, Christian Brothers Academy, 2024 Donald is 5’9 170 pounds and but plays like he is much bigger. He is an explosive player known for making big hits on receivers and ball carriers forcing incompletions and forcing fumbles. In his sophomore season, he tallied up 50 tackles in fall 2021 with 39 of those being solo tackles and 5 TFL. With 4 pass deflections and an INT, Jones has great football smarts and is very dependable in any coverage. He is is physical and can disrupt the timing in man and has great route recognition and ability to adjust while in zone. Donald has great knowledge of the entire game. As he rushed for over 1000 yards on the offensive side of the ball, his run support on the defensive side is next level. He is a 3 down player that can be trusted anywhere in the secondary. He’s an exciting player to watch this fall as he looks to become the complete package and show why he has all the tools to play at the next level.   CB/WR [player_tooltip player_id="227624" first="Luis" last="Garcia Jr"]., Kennedy Catholic, 2023 Luis is 6’2 and weighs just a little over 170 pounds. His height along with 6’5 wingspan allows him to blanket just about any receiver he covers often disrupting plays with his length. He has 4 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, and 31 tackles in his junior year. Luis does very well in off coverage but can play man if needed. In any coverage, he shows great patience which is an underrated skill at this position. He does a good job keeping the play in front of him but also has excellent ability to make a nice break to make a downfield play on the ball or high point it to contest the catch. Luis has great mechanics, smooth backpedalling and ability to open and turn his hips around efficiently. Although not the fastest, he shows flashes of pro-level technique as he understands how to play sections of the field, picking his angles well, and using great leverage. Look out for Luis this fall 2022 to show us why he is the top DB in the state.