Stock Up Defense: Week 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last Friday night we saw defenders across the state step up and show out. Here is our top picks for the players who elevated their stock in week eight on the defensive side of the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Palmer Gardiner || DL || 6'2 || 225 || Davis High School || 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis picked up one of the biggest wins of the season in their 17-14 upset over Farmington. One reason they were able to get the win was a dominate performance by Gardiner. Coming into the game Gardiner had two sacks on the season but in a single game vs the Phoenix he had three. Gardiner is an elite athlete who can convert speed to power in his pass rushes. He has a nice bull rush and in the run game does a greta job standing up and then disengaging offensive linemen for the tackle. The 6'2 defensive linemen also added ten tackles in the win and was essential in liminintg Farmington's yardage on the ground. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='406950' first='Daxton' last='Faddis'] || DB || 6'0 || 200 || Syracuse High School || 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Faddis leads a ferocious Syracuse defense that has only given up six points in their last three games combined. The 6'0 safety lines up all over the field and makes his presence felt at each spot. He does does a great job recognizining plays and flying past blockers to make tackles for loss. In coverage Faddis has great hips and speed that allows him to say with receivers on the outside. As an elite ball hawk at the safety spot the Titans dense is lucky to have Faddis patrolling the backend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor Higham || LB || 6'0 || 205 || American Fork High School || 2025 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Higham was a thorn in the Jaguars side all night. He had four sacks and seven tackles in Mountain Ridge dominate defensive performance vs the West Jordan. Hingham is an outstanding athlete on the edge who displays elite bend. The sophomore explodes off the snap and has an impressive punch that freezes offensive linemen. Hingham has a great motor and speed that allows him to chase down quarterbacks. He may only be a sophomore but plays like a four year starter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dylan Hamilton || CB || 5'10 || 160 || Stansbury High School || 2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamilton gets so much credit for his strong play on offense that people often overlook his shutdown abilities at corner. The senior reads routes incredibly well and jumps them to generate pass deflections and interceptions. Hamilton has six interceptions on the season and if you look at his receiving yardage its easy to see why. Hamilton has fluid hips and changes direction with ease. He's more than willing to make tackles in the run game and brings physicality to the corner position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->