Sooner State Shootout: Top 18U Defenders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sooner State Shootout is in the books and it was a fantastic weekend of football in Broken Arrow! 65 teams from 8 different states came and&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/02/sooner-state-shootout-recap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four would walk away with championships in their respective divisions</a></strong>. In this post, I'm going to take a look at five prospects in the 18U division that really stood out on the defensive side of the ball. For some of these guys, they played offense and defense but it was what they did as defenders that caught our attention this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='319804' first='Devon' last='Jordan'] - 2024 - 918 Elite (Union)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='319804' first='Devon' last='Jordan'] was one of the top defenders coming into the 7v7 tournament this weekend and he backed up all the hype and recent recruiting attention with his play on the field. While playing for 918 Elite, the Union product was one of the top cornerbacks in attendance and he was outstanding in those lockdown man to man situations. In the very first game on Saturday, Jordan had a jump ball interception where he had the receiver's hands right in his face and he still came down with the ball. That set the tone for what Jordan would do throughout the rest of the tournament. He would also turn around and be a weapon on offense but it's what he does at corner that has made him one of the hottest prospects in Oklahoma's 2024 class over the last six weeks. It's going to be a very busy spring for the Union star. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='339201' first='Eric' last='Peterson'] - 2025 - Sooner 7 (Victory Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've watched 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='339201' first='Eric' last='Peterson'] stand out in 7v7 settings for over a year now and the Victory Christian product was excelling again this weekend in Broken Arrow. Peterson doesn't have some of the physical attributes that some of the other standouts on this breakdown have. He's a smaller defensive back but what makes him so dangerous in a 7v7 setting is his quickness and acceleration. A quarterback might think that he has an open wide receiver and from the time he goes to pass to when the ball gets to the target, Peterson has closed the gap and can make a play on the ball. We watched it several times throughout the weekend and once again came away very impressed with his ability to make plays. We've seen him doing this in 7v7 settings but we're looking forward to seeing that start to translate when the pads come on this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kenyan Kelly - 2024 - C4 (Denison)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Durant-based C4 7v7 program brought a very impressive roster to Broken Arrow, full of prospects that have pretty lengthy offer sheets. One of their defensive stars is 2024 defensive back Kenyan Kelly from Denison. Kelly was an absolute ball hawk for C4 throughout the afternoon on Saturday in pool play. He was making play after play and came down with a few interceptions and got his hands on the ball on several other passes. Roaming around the defensive backfield at safety, Kelly's closing speed on the ball was very impressive to watch and he just looks like a guy that is earning power five interest from schools all over the country. Kelly was one of the more impressive safeties to watch throughout the weekend, regardless of division. They might have come up short on Sunday in bracket play, but we're already looking forward to seeing Kelly and C4 <strong><a href="https://events.prepredzone.com/info?website_id=4&event_id=702" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in Nashville in late March</a></strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='682500' first='Kyus' last='Henry'] - 2024 - OBoyz (Edmond Santa Fe)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sports are supposed to be fun. And 7v7 tournaments are supposed to be fun. There might not be another team that had more fun than the OBoyz on Saturday and specifically their shutdown corner [player_tooltip player_id='682500' first='Kyus' last='Henry'] from Edmond Santa Fe. Pictured above in the cowboy hat at one point, Henry very clearly had a really good time on Saturday and it's easy to have fun and pull off stuff like that when you're winning and playing incredibly well in the process. Henry was outstanding at the cornerback position every time we watched him in person on Saturday specifically and a few times on Sunday. Henry did a really good job in the man to man situations and would stay in a wide receiver's hip pocket in lockdown fashion. We've heard nothing but good things about Henry throughout the offseason so far and his play on the field backed up the hype. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='215200' first='Ladainian' last='Fields'] - 2024 - Sooner 7 (Southeast)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='215200' first='Ladainian' last='Fields'] has firmly established himself as one of the top two-sport stars in Oklahoma. He proved that last week when he helped lead Southeast to a Class 5A regional championship on Saturday and turned around and made clutch plays for Sooner 7 on their way to the 18U division championship. We've always liked Fields as a wide receiver but his junior year was full of making plays on defense and he continued that on Sunday in Broken Arrow. In bracket play, he helped Sooner 7 move on when he had a game-winning interception. Fields is starting to open some eyes for what he can do on the defensive side of the ball. He was good on offense this weekend as well but it's what he did on defense that caught our eyes and more importantly, that's what helped his team survive and advance in bracket play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->