Top Four Defensive Backs: 2024

JT Wistrcill

August 31, 2022 @ 06:37 PM

The passing game is more important to the game of football than it's ever been, making the job of defensive backs harder than ever. Our rankings are full of talented players in the secondary, but these are the four players that sit atop that group.     [player_tooltip player_id='406857' first='Smith' last='Snowden'] || DB || 5'9 || 170 || Skyridge High School || 2023   Snowden is the best corner in the state and the only defensive back in our top 10 players of the 2023 class. "Snowden island" is a lonely place for wide receivers to find themselves as they know they are in for a long night. The 5'9 senior jumps routes as well as anyone in the state and is sticky in coverage. Snowden possesses the hands of a receiver, and he often hauls in jump balls and makes other spectacular interceptions. He already has three of those, and it's hard to say how much that number will increase since teams tend to target him less and less each week.     [player_tooltip player_id='406880' first='Sesi' last='Vailahi'] || DB || 5'11 || 190 || West High School || 2023   Vailahi primarily played at running back a year ago but now takes most of his snaps at safety. Patrolling the back end, the 5'11 senior applies the same hard-hitting philosophy he used while running the ball to now lay the wood on opposing ball carries. Vailahi seems to be everywhere on the field at once, making plays at every level. When West traveled to California to take on the 2021 reigning national high school football champion Mater Dei, Vailahi shined. He saved multiple touchdowns and had no issues tackling their best players. Vailahi's ability to read quarterbacks and be a physical presence is why he's our top safety in the class of 2023.     [player_tooltip player_id='406883' first='Ruben' last='Otuafi'] || DB || 6'0 || 160 || Corner Canyon High School || 2023    When you play at Corner Canyon, you have a lot of eyes watching you take the field every Friday night and Otuafi shines under that pressure. In Region 4, he faces some of the best receivers in the state, yet he rarely hears his name called during a broadcast because he is scarcely targeted during games. Otuafi has the ideal size to play corner and uses his wing span to generate pass breakups. He loves to jam receivers at the line and use his physicality to frustrate them all game long. Otuafi does a great job running stride for stride with receivers and plays their brakes well.     [player_tooltip player_id='406892' first='Kolbyn' last='Jackson'] || DB || 5'11 || 210 || Corner Canyon High School || 2023    Jackson does a great job holding down the back end of the Charger's defense. He doesn't let anything get behind him and reads the field well. Jackson also does an excellent job of determining where quarterbacks will look to go with the ball and has the speed to break up big plays. In addition, the 5'11 senior can come down in the box and be a force in the run game. He can bench 345 pounds and puts it to good use when bringing down ball carries or going through linemen. The Chargers are loaded in the secondary, and Jackson is a huge reason why.

The passing game is more important to the game of football than it's ever been, making the job of defensive backs harder than ever. Our rankings are full of talented players in the secondary, but these are the four players that sit atop that group.