Combine Preview: 2025 Ranked Defensive Prospects to Watch
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While more prospects will continue signing up over the next two weeks, over 100 prospects are already slated to make their way to Mylan Park in Morgantown, WV on May 4th to compete at the PRZ WV Combine Series! We’re…
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Continue ReadingWhile more prospects will continue signing up over the next two weeks, over 100 prospects are already slated to make their way to Mylan Park in Morgantown, WV on May 4th to compete at the PRZ WV Combine Series! We’re here to give you a preview of who will be in attendance and the talent that will be on hand. Here are the 2025 ranked defensive prospects that will be in attendance that you need to watch for!
There are still spots left for our Combine coming to Morgantown, WV on May 4th! Code WVHSCombine24 will get you a discount if you’d like to attend! The deadline to register is May 2nd. For more information please click this link.
Frankfort’s Caden Whitacre Caden Whitacre 6’5″ | 225 lbs | DL Frankfort | 2025 State WV is currently slated to be the top-ranked defensive prospect that will be in attendance at the combine. This comes with a caveat as he’s also a very quality offensive lineman for the Falcons and could be considered for either spot depending on how much he can keep adding weight. We consider Whitacre a DL prospect for now due to his 6’5 225 size and combination of athleticism to pair with it who you can see playing defensive end or tackle in college with added bulk. Our question for Whitacre that we want to be answered at the combine is whether he can perform at a high level at DL with the limited film available at that position or is he better suited for OL after he adds considerable weight? Whitacre will likely perform well at both spots, but DL is where he’s most intriguing and where he could develop into a very good college player.
The linebacker group will be a very competitive one at the combine with quite a few prospects capable of earning MVP honors, and that starts with John Marshall’s Maverick Lemasters Maverick Lemasters 6’1″ | 195 lbs | LB John Marshall | 2025 State WV . Lemasters had a huge breakout junior season for the Monarchs in 2023 as a two-way player where he rushed for over 1,200 yards and 9 touchdowns. We like him as a linebacker prospect though and expect that’s where he’ll play at the next level. Our question for Lemasters at the combine is how well will his testing numbers be and how he will perform in pass coverage? We’ll get a good look at him in coverage in the 1-on-1 portion of the camp, and if he’s able to perform well in that facet, Lemasters will prove that he’s a well-rounded linebacker.
Jeffrey Cowger Jeffrey Cowger 6’3″ | 180 lbs | LB Fairmont Senior | 2025 State WV just debuted inside of our 2025 Top 100 and will put his talents on display at the combine. Cowger recently announced his decision to transfer to Fairmont Senior after a monster junior season at North Marion where he racked up 77 tackles, 14 TFLs, and 13 sacks as a defensive end. We like him as an OLB prospect given his 6’3 180 size and expect he may get reps at both spots at the combine as well as possibly some reps at TE. If Cowger tests as well as we think he will and backs it up in 1-on-1s, he’ll be in line for a rankings boost in the summer update. That will be our question for him as to whether he works out at LB or DE and if he can perform well in pass coverage if he gets linebacker reps in 1-on-1s. Cowger is a very intriguing prospect with a likely high ceiling which we’ll have the opportunity to confirm seeing him live and in person.
Highlights
Brayden Miller Brayden Miller 5’9″ | 185 lbs | LB Preston | 2027 WV just wrapped up a First Team All-EPAC junior season and will be making the transition from Musselman to state power and defending AAA champions Martinsburg for his senior year. The combine could be very eye-opening for him in terms of how we view him as a prospect and is someone who could see his stock rise in the rankings with a good performance. Miller is a Top 10 DB right now in our 2025 rankings but could make a big jump in the state rankings if he tests well and shows out in 1-on-1s. Our question for Miller will be how well he tests to get a better idea of his athletic ceiling and how will he perform in man coverage in 1-on-1s as a safety prospect? If Miller can answer those questions emphatically, his ranking will see an increase in the summer update.
Highlights
Another recent defensive prospect who debuted inside our Top 150 in the spring rankings update and is slated to be at the combine is Shady Spring’s Nathan Hill Nathan Hill 6’1″ | 285 lbs | DL Shady Spring | 2025 State WV . He’ll be competing in a deep and talented big-men group and is currently one of the highest-ranked defensive linemen committed to attending the combine. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Hill because of that and expect him to back up our high claims about him being a Top 20 DL in the 2025 class. The biggest question we have for Hill is which side of the trenches he performs better at? He sees time on both sides of the line for the Tigers and could eventually swap to the offensive side of the ball in our rankings depending on what we see at the combine and how his senior season unfolds. Seeing how well he moves in person will also be very beneficial for us moving forward, but Hill showed on his junior highlight tape that he can be in the conversation with some of the top 2025 linemen in the state.