#PRZTN Spring Showcase Preview (Defense)

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">A large contingent of defensive prospects is expected at our Spring Showcase on Sunday with some top level talent expected to be on hand. Here we provide you an in-depth preview on who to watch this weekend and who could be on the verge of breaking out. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Redzone Prospect Combine finishes its tour in the Music City this weekend with more than 300 prospects headed to Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to not only make a name for themselves but kick start their recruitments.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Multiple states will be represented on Sunday but our home state of Tennessee will be highly represented with prospects coming from East to West within the Volunteer state with several guys already holding offers in hand and others on the brink of adding them.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking at the defensive prospects headed for Murfreesboro on Sunday, we have a good variety of talent from guys who have the look and abilities but lay under the radar as well as some underclassmen to pay attention to moving forward as they sport the upside to play on the next level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defensive line looks to be heavy with youth at camp this weekend with multiple guys destined for the college ranks one day. Coming up from “The Sip”, 6 '7 North Forrest (MS) junior <strong>Daylin Page </strong>is a headlining talent I'm very excited to scout as this dude is huge with all the physical traits of a future Power Five football player. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219378' first='Connor' last='Coffman'] </strong>from Page and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834619' first='Wyatt' last='Bakker'] </strong>from Father Ryan are two local D-linemen that should step into big roles this year as juniors, so these two should be standouts this Sunday.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":546192,"width":476,"height":511,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/89-Connor-Coffman-e1670877426239.jpg?w=955" alt="" class="wp-image-546192" width="476" height="511"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Veteran D-linemen will be on hand as well and we got some dudes headed to the Boro looking to build on their recruiting stocks, pushing them to another level. <strong>Isaiah Hare </strong>from Bullitt East (Ky) is a physical and versatile prospect that has already added offers and is picking up more and more interest as the days go by. NCS senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834584' first='Harris' last='Haynes'] </strong>is an interesting talent with great size at 6'5 225 pounds and the upside to develop into a nice pass rusher in the college game. Lexington senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='824353' first='Kohlbi' last='Hart'] </strong>landed his first offer recently from Bethel and more could be on its way. Hart is a true defensive tackle prospect that has the size and physical makeup to see his recruitment pick up over the next few months.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pair of rising sophomores to know about and keep an eye on moving forward are <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='491438' first='Kade' last='Carroll'] </strong>from Lewis Co. and Sequatchie Co. edge rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='540022' first='Harrison' last='Smith'].&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moving to the linebackers, we have a few under the radar senior talents that could turn things around with their recruitments after strong performances this weekend at the #PRZTN Showcase. The headliner will be senior edge rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='258669' first='Joe' last='McCord']</strong>, who is not only a state champion but one of the top returners in tackles for loss in the Volunteer state. His recruitment has yet to take off but certainly has the production and game play to warrant more looks and hopefully that process begins this weekend in Murfreesboro.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East Nashville senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834597' first='Jordan' last='Houston'] </strong>and Lebanon linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816078' first='Jack' last='Clinard'] </strong>are two Middle Tennessee based edge rushers that may be a bit undersized with their height but have nice physical builds along with the burst off the edge that can be developed well on the next level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":832745,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/jclinard.jpg?w=400" alt="" class="wp-image-832745"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The underclassmen look to be well represented at Oakland High School this weekend with a trio of guys standing out to me who should be interesting to watch. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834596' first='Jonah' last='Arms'] </strong>from Maryville<strong> </strong>is well built physically, already sporting the look of a college middle backer. Coming from Alabama, junior Grissom linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='833292' first='Hayden' last='Smith'] has the skill set and size to play either middle or the edge on the collegiate gridiron while 2025 Trousdale County linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='390712' first='Quinton' last='Moore'] </strong>is built much the same as someone that is athletic and rangy to play multiple roles within the linebacking corps. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Athleticism, speed and versatility makeup some of the secondary players we should be seeing this weekend at the Showcase where Smyrna senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237052' first='Thomas' last='Jones'] </strong>is most definitely the headliner. A track star with blazing speed, Jones holds several FCS offers currently with multiple others, including some D1 schools showing interest.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two back end defenders coming out of Memphis to know about for Sunday are Cordova defensive back <strong>Camden Catron </strong>and Briarcrest Christian safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834599' first='Kanon' last='LaRusso']</strong>. Both these are big time under the radar talents that I feel could be in store for a breakout senior season. If my scouting is correct, I look for both Catron and LaRusso to be top performers at the end of the Showcase.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A few other secondary prospects to keep an eye on at camp include Marshall Co. senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834593' first='Jakavan' last='Curry']</strong>, Glencliff defender <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834605' first='Marquibe' last='Smith']</strong>, rising junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787428' first='Gabriel' last='Willoughby'] </strong>from Arlington and 2026 Nashville Christian safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='284142' first='Bryson' last='Holt']</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BrysonHolt21/status/1652413983121457154?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BrysonHolt21/status/1652413983121457154?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rounding out our camp positional preview, we dive deep into the “Athletes” as we appear to have top level talented guys headed to the Boro this weekend. Cannon Co. two-way prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='445122' first='Tucker' last='Kyne'] </strong>is the top guy on my list to pay attention to as he will work both at tight end and edge linebacker at camp, currently sitting as one of the top underrated players from our #TN2024 class.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two other top seniors to know about are Shelbyville receiver/defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='789457' first='Micah' last='Threatt']</strong>, who is big time talented with high football intelligence and Houston receiver/safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='150296' first='Wes' last='Haynes']</strong>, who is tall, long and rangy.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The underclassmen look to be well represented as well. Coming from Paducah-Tilghman, Kentucky, junior teammates <strong>Josh Campbell </strong>and <strong>D.J. Perry </strong>are two athletically talented prospects that I'm looking to learn much more about as I feel they could be FCS, D1 recruited prospects.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cleveland (TN) tight end/edge linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='540034' first='Lucas' last='Szymborski'] </strong>is a well built young man that brings a versatile skill set to the football field that is still developing, so this East Tennessee screams upside. Overton junior receiver/defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='835858' first='Kaleb' last='Johnson'] </strong>can establish himself this Fall as a top talent for his Bobcats team and this summer camp season will be big towards that becoming true. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='279483' first='Eli' last='Baumann'] </strong>from Independence is another receiver/safety prospect that can take another step in his progression this weekend by showing off his smarts, speed and football versatility.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This entire defensive group looks to be quite strong with several others not mentioned above headed to Murfreesboro, making this an exciting side of the ball to follow from a scouting point of view. I expect several defensive prospect to pick up offers based off Sunday's performance and pushing their #PRZTN rankings higher as well as their recruiting stocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":555779,"width":421,"height":631,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/Lucas-Szymborski.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-555779" width="421" height="631"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->