2023 St. Louis Players to Watch: Defensive Backs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we are headed into the middle of May, the 2023 high school football off-season is in full swing with teams and players preparing for the upcoming season. As has been the case for quite some time now, the city of St. Louis is abundant in talent on the gridiron. With that in mind, I wanted to take a look at some of the top returning players in the city heading into the 2023 high school football season. After already covering the offensive side of the ball, I have turned my attention to the defensive side of the ball. With the defensive line and linebackers out of the way, I will wrap up the defensive side of the ball with some of the top returning defensive backs in St. Louis in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181558"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='181558' first='Jacobi' last='Oliphant'] is an incoming senior defensive back that has been high on my radar for a while now. He had a very impressive junior season, finishing with 51 tackles and two interceptions. Jacobi lines up at safety as is very reliable in coverage, showing the ability to read the play and break on the ball with perfect timing to make a play. He has impressive ball skills, showing the ability to catch the ball at its highest point to come away with an interception. Against the run, he has shown the ability to come downhill in a hurry to provide support and is a very physical tackler. Oliphant currently holds several Division I offers and I expect that list to continue to grow as he is a high-caliber talent at safety.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["125258"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Another impressive defensive back in the 2024 class in St. Louis is [player_tooltip player_id='125258' first='Doreon' last='Dubose'] from CBC. Dubose played a key role in CBC's Class 6 State Championship run this past season, finishing with 51 tackles. He has shown impressive positional versatility in the secondary, showing the ability to play both outside at corner and as a safety. Dubose is very reliable against the run, showing the ability to read the play and fill the lane quickly to provide support. Once he gets to the ball carrier, Dubose is a reliable tackler in the open field that finishes his tackles with a ton of physicality. When playing corner, Dubose has shown great man coverage skills, showing the ability to mirror receivers' routes and break on the ball with perfect timing to break up passes. Doreon currently holds offers from Ball State and Indiana State, and I expect more to come his way as he is a true Division I caliber prospect.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["172172"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='172172' first='Jordan' last='Carter'] is another incoming senior defensive back that has caught my attention. He had a solid junior season, finishing with 29 tackles and two interceptions. Carter lines up on the outside at corner and has proven to be very reliable in zone coverage. He has great route recognition skills and has shown the ability to break on the ball with perfect timing to come away with an interception. Carter is also impressive against the run, showing the willingness to come downhill to provide support. Once he gets to the ball carrier, Carter is a very reliable tackler in the open field. Carter doesn't currently hold any offers but should definitely be a player to watch as he has the talent to play at the next level.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["285149"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Joining Carter on the Lutheran North defense is incoming junior [player_tooltip player_id='285149' first='Karvon' last='Jefferson']. Karvon is coming off a very impressive sophomore season in which he finished with 148 tackles and three sacks. He lines up in an inside linebacker role but is being recruited as a safety by most schools. Karvon does a great job of reading the run and coming downhill in a hurry. Once he gets to the ball carrier, Jefferson explodes through contact to finish the tackle. He is also very reliable when asked to blitz, using his speed to shoot through his gap before anyone has a chance to block him. Jefferson is also very fluid in coverage, showing the ability to play both man and zone coverage. Karvon currently holds offers from Eastern Kentucky, Northern Iowa, Marshall, and Ball State, and I expect that list to continue to grow as he is a Division I caliber prospect.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["188605"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='188605' first='Tyron' last='Steed'] is another incoming junior that is very high on my radar. He played a key role in Cardinal Ritter's Class 3 State Championship run this past season, finishing with 41 tackles and one interception. Tyron plays all over the secondary for Cardinal Ritter, mainly as a safety and in the nickel. He is a huge threat in coverage, showing the ability to read the play and break on the ball quickly to make a play. Steed also has the speed to run with receivers in man coverage when asked to do so. Against the run, Steed does a great job of reading the play and filling the lane quickly to provide support. Once he gets to the ball carrier, he does a great job of running his feet through contact to secure the tackle in the open field. Tyron currently holds offers from Ole Miss, Louisville, Kansas, Central Michigan, Ball State, Marshall, West Virginia, and Purdue, and I expect that list to continue to grow as he is a Power 5 caliber prospect.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1117627' first='Antonio' last='Strong']","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"2495","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"St Mary's ","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Another defensive back that has stood out to me from the 2025 class in St. Louis is [player_tooltip player_id='1117627' first='Antonio' last='Strong'] from St. Mary's. Antonio had a solid sophomore season, finishing with 24 tackles and six interceptions. Strong has great positional versatility, showing the ability to play safety and in the slot as a nickel. He is very impressive in coverage, showing the ability to read the play and break on the ball with perfect timing to catch interceptions in stride. Strong has shown the play-making ability after the interception to return them for big gains and touchdowns. He has also shown the ability to run with receivers out of the slot in man coverage. Against the run, Strong has proven to be able to read the run quickly and come downhill to provide support. Antonio currently holds offers from Alabama Au0026amp;M, Houston, Prairie View Au0026amp;M, Tennessee State, and Massachusetts, and I expect more to come his way as he is a Division I caliber prospect.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["288428"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='288428' first='Brayden' last='Wakula'] is a defensive back that recently jumped onto my radar. He had a solid sophomore season, finishing with 13 tackles and three interceptions. Brayden has impressive positional versatility, showing the ability to play both safety and on the outside at corner at times. He is very reliable in coverage, showing the ability to break on the ball with perfect timing to make a play. Wakula is also reliable against the run, showing the ability to fill the lane to provide support and is a reliable open field tackler. Brayden doesn't currently hold any offers and is also a talented baseball player so his future after high school is unclear but he definitely has the talent to play football at the next level if he chooses to pursue that route.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["392813"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"To wrap up this list I have [player_tooltip player_id='392813' first='Keenan' last='Harris'] from SLUH. Harris is coming off an impressive freshman season in which he finished with 95 tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery, and an interception. He has shown the ability to play both on the outside at corner and in the slot as a nickel. Harris is very impressive in man coverage, showing the ability to mirror receivers' routes all over the field. When the ball is thrown his way, Harris has shown the ability to react quickly to make a play on the ball. Against the run, Harris has show the ability to come downhill quickly to provide support and is a very physical tackler. Keenan currently holds several Power 5 offers and I expect that list to continue to grow as he is a truly special talent.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":8,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-646be10cf1e1d"} /-->