2025 Rankings Update: Showcasing an Elite DL Class 8-14
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Makel Parker PA #104 DL #15 HEIGHT 6'4" WEIGHT 220 POS DL CLASS 2025 View Profile Makel Parker Instagram Twitter State: Pennsylvania School: Pope John Paul II Makel Parker Makel Parker 6’4″ | 220 lbs | DL Pope John Paul…
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Continue ReadingMakel Parker Makel Parker 6’4″ | 220 lbs | DL Pope John Paul II | 2025 State PA stays inside the top 100, as well as the top 15 at his position. Here’s what I wrote about him back in January.rn
6’5, a lean 215, Parker is a slim and athletic interior defensive lineman whose active hands and feet get him in the backfield quickly. His ability to identify the ball carrier while shedding is impressive, his feel for the flow of the football is that of a seasoned prospect. You don’t see 215-pound IDL often, he’s a bit of a twist for IOL who are expecting beefier gap-clogging nose guards inside. He’s got OLB burst and pursuit, yet utilized well in the trenches. A ton of TFLs and sacks on tape, couple of forced fumbles too.
Iron will sharpen iron, as Kevin Heywood Kevin Heywood 6’7″ | 300 lbs | OL Pope John Paul II | 2024 State PA coming into the building should help Parker become an even better prospect, especially if he continues to line up against tackles. What intrigues me the most is the plan PJP has in store for the junior DL/OL/TE. Division One grade.
Highlights
Braheem Battles Braheem Battles 6’3″ | 325 lbs | DL Allentown Central Catholic | 2025 State PA , one of the more massive IDL prospects the state has to offer, one who has flirted with the top 50, as well as the top five spot at his position. He sits at 13, yet he’s in the discussion as one of the class’s better interior presences, if we take EDGE defenders out of the discussion. I’d bet this is his ranking floor with ceiling being top five as stated above. Worth noting that he’s guard capable at this level, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear from college coaches that they like him at IOL as well. He brings the OL mentality with him to the defensive side of the ball. What’s special about Battles is, you can expect him to do something extraordinary every Friday night. PBUs, FFs, even INTs. Again, this kid is pushing nearly 330+ pounds. If there’s an athletic 330-pound defender to be found, it would be this kid.
A candidate to blow up in terms of offers, sooner rather than later. A build coaches drool over. 6’4, 228, said weight can fluctuate up or down depending on how Bishop Canevin wants to utilize his skillset. Can keep him lean and slim, building on his speed repertoire as an EDGE rusher. This would go hand in hand with any work done at the TE position. Keeping this kid athletic also keeps him more valuable to the team, I’d imagine. I wrote up more on his game a couple weeks back, very interested in seeing if any Power Five programs pull the trigger before the season, or possibly after the first three games of the season. I’d imagine West Virginia and BC have him on their radar/board. I do see the work he’s put in as a pass-catcher this off-season. We know how valuable EDGE rushing prospects are to the important decision-makers, yet Barbisch expanding on his game is always a welcomed sight. Moving him to TE would make him the top-ranked prospect at that position.
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Upper St. Clair’s Nate Stohl Nate Stohl 6’3″ | 245 lbs | DL Upper St. Clair | 2025 State PA is the first man outside of the top ten. Top 40 player, not top ten in his position, that goes to show just how loaded the DL class really is. 6’3, 245, 4.2, an equally impressive guard I might add. Stohl’s has just one FCS offer under his belt thus far, that coming from the University of Pennsylvania. We shouldn’t be worried about offer counts right now, yet rankings will take recruiting into account. From what I hear, many other FCS programs have Stohl on their boards, it’s nice to see a non-western PA program deliver the first offer, however. That bodes well for Stohl’s future. What should be a priority at this point, keeping that GPA high and working on expanding as one of the better two-way trench players the state has to offer. Potential 1st-Team All-conference at two positions.
If I’m ranking solely on what was produced on tape, Clancy Orie Clancy Orie 6’3″ | 250 lbs | DL Bethel Park | 2025 State PA might be a bit further down this list. Thing is, I wouldn’t suggest just looking at accolades and stat totals when placing him among his peers. Orie, who recently received his first scholarship offer out of Duquesne, is one of the best seekers of the football on this list. His pursuit rivals any EDGE rusher on our ranks. Orie’s get-off is solid, yet he has an inept ability of not losing his upfield momentum despite being pressed off his path by tackles. Real hip power to absorb punches and presses while maintaining a path to the quarterback or BC. Sack numbers can be higher and will be higher. Orie’s rank is a recruiting projection of future things to come. In order to keep this ranking, he’d have to cash in on what should be a stellar junior campaign for BP.
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We ranked Grady Papa Grady Papa 6’2″ | 225 lbs | DL Pittsburgh Central Catholic | 2025 State PA with the big dogs of the State last update, doing so with full intention that he’s going to pop in the recruiting world. It hasn’t happened yet, that doesn’t mean I’m going to go back on my initial grade on the kid just yet. Papa places on this list of EDGE/IDL prospects, yet we know the book on the young man. Pittsburgh Central Catholic will be able to station Papa pretty much anywhere inside the front-seven. IDL, EDGE, LB, Papa can get the job done. Just under 6’3, 225, seeing Papa work in shorts and a t-shirt will likely open your eyes to the kind of athlete he is. If that doesn’t do it, plug in the tape. Papa boasts a 4.54 WPGA.
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Washington’s Semaj Fuse Semaj Fuse 6’3″ | 250 lbs | DL Washington | 2025 State PA breaks off into a different tier from those ranked beneath him. I expect the young men mentioned above to reach Division One status at some point, Semaj Fuse Semaj Fuse 6’3″ | 250 lbs | DL Washington | 2025 State PA has already done so. Equipped with fine tape, Fuse has had the call with Akron, Miami of Ohio, and Rutgers sealing his Power Five status with the BIG10 offer. Fuse is stamped as one of the best interior defenders, both against the run and pass, the class of 2025 has to provide. You can say no one stands as a bigger threat to the trenches outside of St. Joseph’s Prep’s Maxwell Roy Maxwell Roy 6’5″ | 265 lbs | DL St. Joseph’s Prep | 2025 State PA . High praise. A stellar year of production will cement him as a top 25-20 prospect.