VTO All-American Challenge Defensive Standouts

The VTO All-American Camp is an invitation-only camp of the best players from VTO Camps all across the United States. Over two days, players compete in drills, 1-on-1’s, 7 on 7’s, and team competitions for evaluation in front of multiple media outlets and college coaches. North Carolina had several standout players, and we will highlight them here. The All-American Challenge was held at West Cabarrus High School. <span class="im">[player_tooltip player_id="45005" first="DJ" last="Watkins"] - North Stanly - Class of 2023</span> DJ has been impressing at various camps all offseason long, and for him to be recognized as a Top 5 Defensive Lineman was no surprise here. At 6’2 and 298 pounds, he is an absolute force at the defensive tackle position. He has an incredible burst off of the line of scrimmage and can create havoc in the backfield by shedding blockers well in the run game and putting immediate pressure on quarterbacks by pushing the interior of the offensive line back in the pocket in the passing game. DJ can also play out in space at the Defensive End spot and can even cover kicks on Special Teams! Zane Bostick - West Cabarrus - Class of 2025 Zane for such a young player has good size at 6’2 and 230 pounds. Earning a Top 5 Defensive Lineman award in a talented group of players was very impressive. Zane has an ability to play on both sides of the ball from his film, however, on defense he is very aggressive at the snap, with a great get-off on slants and stunts on the defensive line, making several tackles for loss in the backfield. I’m excited for his future with multiple years to further develop for the next level in front of him. <span class="im">Luke Gilbertson - Hickory Ridge - Class of 2023</span> Luke received a Top 5 designation at the Linebacker position and really showed well in all facets of the two-day camp. He is 6’0 and 200 pounds and plays a lot of outside linebacker and some nickel for the Ragin Bulls. He is an excellent tackler in open spaces and can cover slot receivers and tight ends effectively along with running backs coming out of the backfield in the passing game. He also shows a good ability to blitz from the outside and create turnovers for his defense. Dom’Ahnic Atkinson-Bell - North Brunswick - Class of 2023 Atkinson-Bell received the Defensive Back MVP award with a great overall performance in the All-American Challenge. He has excellent discipline in zone concepts and does a good job in man coverage overall as well. He excels in two specific areas in my opinion - #1 is his ball skills - there were several pass breakups he made that showed an excellent technique of getting his hands where the receivers are and playing through them. #2, in looking at his film he is a very physical player who excels in making open-field tackles in 1 on 1 situations. He is 5’9 and 165 pounds which projects to a slot corner on the next level, and with those traits, he will make a school very happy. [player_tooltip player_id="381025" first="Omar" last="Houston"] - 71st - Class of 2023 Omar looked great on both days of the camp earning a Top 5 Defensive Back designation. He has excellent footwork and agility, and as a safety, he shows an ability to cover slots in man coverage and has great ball skills and zone discipline in the deep end in coverage as well. He also can tackle well in space and shows an excellent ability to influence and make game-changing plays for his team in the form of interceptions and tackles for loss. Omar has picked up a couple of offers after the camp, and I expect he will have several options to choose from before the end of his senior season.