Film Room: Elite Week 1-4 Defensive Performances

<p>We're four weeks into the High School Football season, and we already have countless players who have surpassed all expectations. This article will feature several great defensive performances from the past four weeks of football.</p>   <p>All stats and highlights listed are pulled from my <a href="https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1703808825176777182">Weekly Standouts Tweet</a>. If you'd like a chance to be featured in an article, please drop your film + stats into my most recent pinned tweet! </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">LB | [player_tooltip player_id='247638' first='Ethan' last='Carter'] | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17867957/Ethan-Carter/about">Hudl</a></h2>   <p><strong>Stats: 43 Tackles, 7TFLs, 4 Sacks</strong></p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='247638' first='Ethan' last='Carter'] has surpassed all expectations this season. The Junior linebacker has found immense success at a new position following one of the most productive offseasons I've seen from an athlete. His stats alone pop off the page as he's averaging a sack per game in addition to just over 10 tackles per game. His film fully showcases his abilities. In the run game, Ethan has several highlights proving he can react quickly to the inside run and stuff it for a minimal gain. Even better, he has several highlights showing an ability to fight through blocks while running parallel to the line of scrimmage in order to stop the outside run. On passing downs, Ethan is quick to react, has good explosiveness, and is able to get from his off-ball linebacker position to the QB quickly. I need to watch full game tape, but all of his highlights show great IQ and effort in general. I fully expect Ethan to continue his success through this season. If he's able to become even faster, more explosive, and stronger, then this guy has a Division 1 ceiling. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">OLB/EDGE | [player_tooltip player_id='665562' first='Carter' last='Sitz'] | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15163835/Carter-Sitz/about">Hudl</a></h2>   <p><strong>Stats: 29tkls, 10TFL, 14 Pressures, 4Sack, 1INT, 1FF</strong></p>   <p>Carter is playing out of his mind through four weeks. I really like his film as it shows variety, effort, explosiveness, and more. Carter has film both on-ball and off-ball, though I think he's best as an on-ball player. His getoff from the line is great, and there's a few highlights where he reacts incredibly quickly to the snapped ball. His aggressiveness when allowed to blitz and run wild is excellent, and he has the speed to get to the QB before he has any time to react. I need to see more of Carter before I'm confident putting a grade on him, but he surely has traits on-par with DII prospects. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">LB | Bennett Gilde | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14499861/Bennett-Gilde/about">Hudl</a></h2>   <p><strong>Stats (3 Games): 27 Tackles, 4TFLs, 1 Sack</strong></p>   <p>Bennett is another linebacker who's had great success in the early goings of the season. He's a prototypical Mike Linebacker at 6'1 210. With his size, he's able to outmuscle blocks and tackle hard. He has many highlights where he's able to diagnose a play, hit the hole, and stuff an inside run. He's a dominant player in Division 8 and I could surely see a Division 3 college taking notice of Bennett's performance. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DB | [player_tooltip player_id='200351' first='Emil' last='Burton'] | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15074956/Emil-Burton/about">Hudl</a></h2>   <p><strong>Stats: 6PBUs, 1INT, 14Tkls, 0 catches against </strong></p>   <p>Emil has gotten off to a great start to the 2023 season! The highlights of his highlights are of course his various PBUs. Emil exemplifies great effort and closing speed on balls thrown his way. As the ball is in the air, he does a great job at going up to disrupt the pass. I do think that Emil could use some work on his overall fluidity and athleticism, though he has a great foundation and is obviously a high-effort player. </p>

We're four weeks into the High School Football season, and we already have countless players who have surpassed all expectations. This article will feature several great defensive performances from the past four weeks of football.