2026 Defenders Looking To Have Breakout Seasons

Prep Redzone provides coverage of a recenet combine in Kansas.

Jared Luginbill July 31, 2023 @ 08:45 PM

LB [player_tooltip player_id='402319' first='Cincere' last='Johnson'] (Glenville) 6'2 210- Johnson got his first sniff of varsity playing action for the Tarblooders. Because of the talent Glenville possesses that playing time was limited. He would have played if not started on a lot of varsity teams across Ohio. Johnson is pretty explosive for a young man his size. He plays with good pad level and bends well. I'd be pretty surprised if Johnson doesn't move outside at some point to either the edge or defensive end. I think as he continues to grow and get stronger, he will be able to win both via power and speed. I'm very excited to see what kind of sophomore season Johnson can put together on a star studded Tarblooders defense. With continued development, I think Johnson is definitely a D1 Prospect if not a P5.   DL [player_tooltip player_id='402328' first='Diondre' last='Taylor'] (Benedictine) 6'1 250- Taylor is a very well put together young defensive lineman. While he may play defensive end for the Bengals defense, he projects to a rush tackle at the college level. Taylor has an array of moves that he uses to win versus his offensive line counterparts. You can win by power with his bulrush. He can also win with his weakness and athleticism by shooting gaps. He also has a nice spin move that he uses. He continues to develop physically and in his craft, I think Taylor has power five upside.   LB [player_tooltip player_id='402338' first='Javion' last='Lewis'] (Wayne) 6'0 190- Lewis got a sniff of his first varsity experience as a freshman for the Warriors. That's no small feat for a program that consistently churns out D1 football talent. Lewis plays with good pad level and takes good angles to the ball. He plays downhill and really breaks and accelerate to make plays on the perimeter. At times he was hesitant in his read and react, which isn't abnormal for freshmen. As the season went on you could see the game slow down a little for him and he started to play faster. He has the speed and athleticism to fill gaps and make plays. With a year of experience under his belt and an offseason of continued strength and training, I'm excited to see what growth and strides Javion can take this fall.   DL [player_tooltip player_id='284105' first='Michael' last='Branch'] (Taylor) 6'4 225- Last season Branch won his reps mostly on his athletic ability and plus size for a freshman. At 6'4 225 pounds Branch could easily fill out to 250-260 pounds. For a freshman to put together a 6.5 sack and 18TFL season is impressive in itself, but to do on a lot of raw talent is even more impressive. Branch gets off the ball well, but I think he has a lot more explosiveness in him to tap into. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Michael overpowered offensive linemen physically at times as you would watch him stand them up routinely. Once he disengages you really see his natural size and speed combination really take over in pursuit. The area where I see the most room for growth for Michael is just in technique. With work on his hand fighting and pash rush techniques, he could really become a dominant high school defensive lineman and a D1 prospect.   LB [player_tooltip player_id='506535' first='Zach' last='Elchert'] (Liberty Benton) 6'3 195- The first thing you notice when you turn on Elchert's film is that he's a very mobile linebacker who can run. While he plays middle linebacker, his length and athleticism definitely could play to the outside linebacker position at the college level. He fires quickly after his read and react. Zach willingly takes on blockers in an effort to plug gaps. There are times where you can see the freshman in him when it comes to his strength. As he continues to fill out and get stronger, I think he'll be a force in the run game. In the passing game Elchert possesses the athleticism and ability to play in space to be a strong defender in zone coverage. Zach's twin brother Seth has already received several D1 scholarship offers at wide receiver. The traits are there with Zach as well. If he can continue to add good weight and strength, I think he will start to add D1 interest and offers as well.

LB Cincere Johnson Cincere Johnson 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB Glenville | 2026 State OH (Glenville) 6'2 210- Johnson got his first sniff of varsity playing action for the Tarblooders. Because of the talent Glenville possesses that playing time was limited. He would have played if not started on a lot of varsity teams across Ohio. Johnson is pretty explosive for a young man his size. He plays with good pad level and bends well. I'd be pretty surprised if Johnson doesn't move outside at some point to either the edge or defensive end. I think as he continues to grow and get stronger, he will be able to win both via power and speed. I'm very excited to see what kind of sophomore season Johnson can put together on a star studded Tarblooders defense. With continued development, I think Johnson is definitely a D1 Prospect if not a P5.