Friday Frosh Watch: 2026 Defensive Linemen
A look at three defensive linemen from the class of 2026 who have had a strong freshman season so far. Frosh to Watch Eli Stevens, Northglenn Norsemen (DL/LB)(Fr.)(42) – Despite only being a freshman, Stevens has already established himself as…
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Continue ReadingA look at three defensive linemen from the class of 2026 who have had a strong freshman season so far.
Frosh to Watch
Eli Stevens, Northglenn Norsemen (DL/LB)(Fr.)(42) – Despite only being a freshman, Stevens has already established himself as one of the better defenders on the Northglenn defense with his fairly consistent production from the first game of the season until now. Diving into those numbers, Stevens has accounted for 66 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a pass deflection. Unfortunately, Stevens doesn’t have any film available for me to write up an honest evaluation of his traits. With that being said, the numbers prove he’s a high level player that will look to grow into one of the state’s top pass rushers by the time 2026 roles around.
Cade Geist, Timnath Cubs (DL)(Fr.)(52) – Much like Stevens for Northglenn, Geist has already established himself as one of the key pieces on the Timnath defense with his consistent production from the beginning of the season until now. Glancing at Geist’s numbers so far this season, he has accounted for 43 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and a pass deflection. Watching Geist’s freshman season on tape, the first thing that jumps off the screen is his aggression and excellent power he displays at the point-of-attack when making contact with an opposing blocker or ball carrier, routinely winning in 1-on-1 situations with his strength alone. Shows an excellent ability to stack and shed opposing blockers quickly when pursuing the ball carrier. Displays a lethal bull rush that can consistently overwhelm the opposing blocker lined up across from him, quickly collapsing the pocket and disrupting the opposing offense’s rhythm in the passing game. Versatile defender that can be lined up on the edge or on the interior but is at his best lined up over the opposing guard as a 3-tech. Geist certainly looks the part of a premier defensive linemen to this point in his career but will look to grow into an even more dominant defender by the time 2026 roles around.
Nico DePizzol, Mullen Mustangs (DL)(Fr.)(7) – DePizzol has been a fairly recent addition to the defensive line rotation for the Mustangs defense, but has quickly established himself as one of the unit’s better pass rushers in the last several weeks. Looking at DePizzol’s numbers from the last few weeks in the rotation, he has registered 7 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection. To account for those kinds of numbers in five weeks as a freshman is pretty impressive, to say the least. Like many players in these pieces, with how early he still is in his prep career, DePizzol doesn’t have any film available so I won’t be able to provide an honest scouting report on his traits. However, he has quickly come onto the scene as a key cog in the machine that is the Mullen defensive line/pass rush unit, with the numbers showing that. He’ll certainly be an interesting player to follow over the next three years.