Wichita Northwest Defensive Prospects

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Redzone Kansas player rankings are loaded with talent from Wichita Northwest. Fourteen different Grizzly athletes across three class years show up in the rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched the first half of the Grizzlies non-conference game in Topeka on September 29.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwest plays a 3-4 front and their three defensive lineman dominated the Trojans front five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at some of the Grizzlies' top defensive prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='676186' first='Bernard' last='Birch'], </strong>DL, 6'2", 220, '24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1105837' first='Tre' last='Birch'] is a beast. He has great speed and on the first snap of the game he broke through the line for a tackle that resulted in a four-yard loss. He plays nose guard and can really stop the run. Birch is ranked No. 21 in the Prep Redzone rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Johnmichael Fountain Jr</strong>., LB,&nbsp; 6'1", 205, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fountain had 41 total tackles after four games. Five of his tackles were for a loss of yardage. He had a huge first half for the Grizzlies. He returned a fumble for a 25-yard touchdown and an interception 26 yards for a score. He is fast and can bring the wood. Don't be surprised if he ends up in a Division I program after high school. Prep Redzone has Fountain ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='716836' first='Brady' last='Johnson'],</strong> DL, 6'1”, 225, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson is a super quick defensive lineman. He had three tackles that I saw against the Trojans. He could possibly move to linebacker. Johnson is ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='334743' first='Jacob' last='King']</strong>, ATH, 5'10", 170, '24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>King entered the game with 28 total tackles and two sacks. King is currently ranked No. 52 in the Class of 2024 rankings. He had a couple of tackles in the first half in Northwest's romp. He has plus speed and reads the offense well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='827348' first='Jeremiah' last='Harris']</strong>, DB, 5'11", 160, '24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harris entered the game against high leading Northwest in total tackles with 48. Harris had a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown for the Grizzlies. Prep Redzone currently has Harris ranked No. 111 among his Class of 2024 peers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two other ranked players from the Grizzlies are defensive backs, [player_tooltip player_id='415417' first='Taccarri' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='780309' first='A'maree' last='Bohannon']. Brown is currently ranked No. 126 in the Class of 2024 by Prep Redzone and Bohannon is currently ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two unranked players who excelled for Northwest are defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1306216' first='Peyton' last='Dean']</strong> and linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1115480' first='Quavon' last='Harris']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->