Five New Additions to the 2025 Rankings: Defensive Backs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The recently updated 2025 Ohio rankings include a large amount of really impressive defensive backs. All of the players listed below show unique aspects to their game that makes them stand out from one another and effectively making them hard to rank as a position because of how talented they all are. Here are some defensive backs that have been doing all the right things as of late to be included as new additions to our rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1132776"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16477755/653e9183ab92a90b40b00d6cu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e/u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/DeejGalloway85?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthoru0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eXu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e - Dawayne is an electric athlete on the field for Marion Franklin. He has very fluid hips and great recovery speed. He is a threat to return any interception back the other way for six points with his speed and elusiveness with the ball in his hands. Also making him dangerous on special teams as a return man. He shows good ball skills coupled with his ability to read and react to the quarterback while playing zone coverage. He has the athletic ability to play on any team in the country and it is proven by his recent influx of offers from top P5 programs. I am excited to see how much he will improve even further going into his senior season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1127892"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16199117/654b49e002b1f412b8c7f14bu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e/u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/DonmielRogers1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthoru0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eXu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e - Donmiel is a versatile defensive back for Winton Woods. Lining up mainly as a safety, he also has the ability to be a very effective nickel corner. He shows good transitions with the COD and closing speed to be able to come up and make a play on the receiver. For a defensive back with a smaller frame, he plays with great physicality and is not afraid of making tackles at the LOS in run support. He shows good read and react skills with the finish to go and make the play after he recognizes it. I really like his fit as a nickel corner and am not surprised that many big time college programs are showing interest as well. There is no doubt he will make another big jump from his junior to senior season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1147335"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003e u003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16158554/65344d6a02b14a0a3c2ea281u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e/u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/TaizaunBurnsu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eXu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e - Taizaun does it all for Columbus East, playing all over the field on both sides of the ball. On defense he lines up at safety and as a nickel corner. He excels at blitzing both from the inside and from the outside out of the nickel. He is very physical and has a solid frame. He has good ability to help in run support and shows good open field tackling. He can recognize and react to the ball lightning fast coming down from the safety spot. I am confident he will continue to move up ranking boards and play a vital part in the success of Columbus East next season.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1014822"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16380547/65066f2c32dcee045425fceeu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e/u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/ElazarHood15u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eXu003c/au003e - u003c/strongu003eElazar is a well-rounded outside corner. He checks all the boxes for the ideal player you want as your top corner. He has good ball skills, showing the ability to get his head around fast and make a play on the ball in man coverage. DeSales frequently trusts him in man coverage with no help over the top and he shows why. For having good coverage skills, he also shows he can make open field tackles on the perimeter and limit yards after catch. His hip flexibility and transition skills also really stood out to me as he is able to make seamless transitions with minimal wasted steps. I will be watching closely to see what more he is able to accomplish in his final season.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1132790"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16107850/655bc8a6ab9d7809881394e3u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e/u003c/strongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/WestonSturzing1u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eu003cstrongu003eXu003c/strongu003eu003c/au003e - Weston is a dynamic playmaker for Perkins. His skill as a receiver on offense really translates well to the defensive side of the ball at safety where he shows great ball skills. He has sound footwork with a good back pedal and good transitions with very little missteps. His length at 6'2 makes his COD and transitions even more impressive. As well as his good coverage and ball skills, he can also effectively come down and make open field tackles and has the speed to chase runners down and not get beat over the top in coverage. He is definitely one of the more underrated DBs on our board with a great upside to continue to move up in the future.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65b567621e4e6"} /-->