Prominent 2025 Stock Risers (Defense)

<p>There are a ton of 2025 Prospects on the defensive side of the ball that have impressed me over the past few months. The five guys I'll talk about today are all potentially elite prospects who have had great offseasons!</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DL | [player_tooltip player_id='899579' first='Austin' last='Ericson'] | Romeo | <a href="https://twitter.com/AEricson2025">Twitter</a></h2>   <p>My optimism for [player_tooltip player_id='899579' first='Austin' last='Ericson'] mainly comes from his size and his performance at the MHSAA showcase in Farmington. There, he was unblockable. He showed good bend around tackles and used a wide variety of pass-rush moves to win against notable OL prospects. The MAC Red is one of the most talented leagues in Michigan, with many alumni in the NFL. So, if Austin performs how I think he can, he'll continue to move up the rankings. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">LB | [player_tooltip player_id='247638' first='Ethan' last='Carter'] | Hudsonville | <a href="https://twitter.com/EthanCarterEC">Twitter</a></h2>   <p>Ethan is one of those guys that I have a great inside scoop on. My conversations with the trainers over at PowerStrength are the main source of my optimism. Ethan has made absolute strides with his athleticism and weight lifting. The training he does is tough, and prominent figures like Mac VandenHout (Davenport), Timmy Kloska (Army), Zak Ahern (Ferris), Tim Allen (Ferris), Cooper Terpstra (Michigan State), and SEVERAL other college prospects have come out of this gym. Ethan seems to be the next player to take off partly because of help from Powerstrength. This season, he's going to he Hudsonville's starting Middle Linebacker. This is a very intriguing position switch, and I hope he's as good with his reaction time, IQ, and aggressiveness as he is an athlete. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">LB | [player_tooltip player_id='899597' first='Raylon' last='Murry'] | Detroit Loyola | <a href="https://twitter.com/RaylonMurry">Twitter</a></h2>   <p>Raylon is the TJ Watt of Michigan High School Football. I absolutely love his tape. He showcases a great, well-rounded skillset. First off, he's a great edge rusher. He can bend, rip, club, and he's fast. It's obvious that Raylon has a great understanding of what it takes to wreak havoc in an opposing backfield. As an off-ball linebacker, Raylon shows great reaction time and has the athleticism to go sideline-to-sideline to tackle an opposing ball carrier. He's a division 1 prospect in my eyes! </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">LB | [player_tooltip player_id='899598' first='Jack' last='Lower'] | Rochester | <a href="https://twitter.com/JackLower06">Twitter</a></h2>   <p>Jack is one of the most impressive new linebackers I watched while updating the 2025 rankings. Frist off, he's a beast being 5'11 205 with extremely impressive lifting numbers. He's a wrestling team captain and, again, a prolific lifter, having deadlifted up to 550lbs. In between the hashes, Jack is a nightmare. He hits like truck and has the reaction time to get in the backfield, turning what might be a 3-yard gain for the offense into a 3-yard loss. He's a game-changer at times, and has a high ceiling. My only big knock is that he's unproven in terms of speed and athleticism.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DB | [player_tooltip player_id='899621' first='Chris' last='Little'] | Groves | <a href="https://twitter.com/chrislittle_21">Twitter</a></h2>   <p>Good luck throwing the ball against Groves this season. Last season, he led the state in interceptions with a whopping 10 picks. Predictably, he's a rangy playmaker. He plays with aggression, playing the ball quite a bit in coverage. His DB fundamentals, fast hips, and speed allow him to jump routes and make "riskier" plays that seem to pay off quite a bit. He's also posted quite a but on his offseason work, and I'm extremely optimistic when it comes to his potential. D1 prospect. </p>

There are a ton of 2025 Prospects on the defensive side of the ball that have impressed me over the past few months. The five guys I'll talk about today are all potentially elite prospects who have had great offseasons!