2026 Defensive Linemen Breakdowns

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The player rankings were updated last week. The review covers five of the defensive linemen in a talented group that are preparing for their upcoming season of high school football. The defensive linemen had solid performances throughout last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='823700' first='Aiden' last='Harris'] - 6'3" 240 (No.1 DL, No. 11 Overall), Weddington HS. </strong>Aiden displayed good technique and violent hands to control blockers while moving past them to make stops. He displayed speed to cover ground quickly to close in on the ball carrier in the open field. He moved well in tight spaces to disrupt inside running plays. Aiden finished last season with 54 total tackles, 27 which were solo tackles and 10 tackles for losses. He has received Power5 and D1 offers, more are expected to come in during his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='858648' first='Trashawn' last='Ruffin'] - 6'3" 290 (No. 2 DL, No. 26 Overall), North Duplin HS. </strong> Trashawn displayed good technique and violent hands to control blockers while moving past them to make stops. He is a combination of quickness and power, which makes it difficult to contain him. He finished last season with 31 total tackles, 10 which were solo tackles and 2 tackles for losses. Trashawn has received a D1 offer, more are expected to come in during his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='662372' first='Zavion' last='Griffin-Haynes'] - 6'6" 210 (No. 3 DL, No. 28 Overall), Rolesville HS.</strong> Zavion displayed quickness out of his stance to make contact with blockers while moving past them to make stops. He displayed good technique and good use of hands to control blockers. He uses a quick first step to get the advantage on much larger offensive linemen. Zavion transferred from Hillside HS to Rolesville HS to continue his high school career. He has received D1 offers, more are expected to come in during his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='602480' first='Sterling' last='Edwards'] - 6'1" 285 (No. 4 DL, No. 28 Overall), Hillside HS. </strong> Sterling displayed quickness out of his stance to control blockers while moving past them to make stops. He displayed good technique and good hands while moving past blockers to close in on the ball carrier. He uses quickness to get the advantage on much larger offensive linemen. Sterling finished last season with 23 total tackles, 6 which were solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for losses in limited action. He had impressive performances while participating in Summer Prospect Camps. The camp performances generated D1 offers, more are expected to come in during his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='321266' first='Noah' last='Clark'] - 6'3" 300 (No. 5 DL, No. 55 Overall), CE Jordan HS. </strong> Noah displayed good technique and violent hands to control blockers while moving past them to make stops. He moved well in tight spaces to shut down inside running plays. He is an agile and powerful defensive lineman, which makes it difficult to contain him. Noah draws the double-team on most plays. He finished last season with 63 total tackles, 35 which were solo tackles and 12 tackles for losses. Noah is expected to have a breakout season and recruiting interest should heat up for him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->