Combine Preview: ’25 Under the Radar 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 under the radar 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.
An under-the-radar 2025 LB prospect to watch for at the combine is Woodrow Wilson’s Bryce Ford Bryce Ford 5’10” | 200 lbs | RB Woodrow Wilson | 2025 WV . Ford is a prospect who we aren’t as familiar with heading into the combine due to the lack of Hudl film but got a glimpse of what he can do from some videos on his Twitter/X account. He looks like someone who could really surprise at the combine and could quickly make a name for himself while flying under the radar right now. Ford sees some carries on offense, but we like him as a linebacker prospect which can be confirmed by how he performs at the combine. Quality size for a small college LB prospect at 5’10 200 and appears he can cover ground and make plays in space. We’ll be looking for Ford to answer just what is he capable of with limited info/film available and how well will he test and move in person? Watch for Ford to be a sneaky underrated prospect who could earn some praise if he has a strong performance.
Another under-the-radar prospect with limited info/film available right now but could emerge as a top defensive performer at the combine is Washington’s Terry Rea III. The biggest thing going for him right now before getting to see him in person is he’s a coach’s son. His father is the head coach of Washington, so you know Rea will be well-coached and have good fundamentals and technique. Rea boasts a listed 4.53 40 time and is an athlete who could put up some impressive numbers during the combine testing portion of the camp. If we can get that type of athleticism confirmed at the combine, that will give him some college interest alone even with limited film available. Our question for him will be just how athletic he is, will the numbers prove as such, and just how high his ceiling can be? We’d also like to know which position he performs best at and could show some good things at both WR and DB. I have a feeling Rea will be one of the under-the-radar prospects who will make his name known with a strong performance and get on some radars that he might not have been on prior.
Ripley is typically an under-the-radar football program but will have some prospects in attendance at the combine who are ready to show what they can do. That includes 2025 LB Michael Vaughn Michael Vaughn 5’11” | 200 lbs | LB Ripley | 2025 WV who did some good things for the Vikings last season as a two-way player. He gets reps at fullback on offense, but we like Vaughn as a linebacker at the next level. He’s your classic downhill physical linebacker which will be tough to put on display in a camp setting but can improve his stock if he can show he’s capable in coverage as well. That physicality translates to both sides of the ball when he lines up at fullback in their power sets and does a nice job in that role too. We’ll be looking for Vaughn to answer how athletic he is in the testing portion and his coverage ability in 1-on-1s.
Morgantown’s Armstrong Siakam Armstrong Siakam 5’11” | 260 lbs | DL Morgantown | 2025 WV is an under-the-radar and raw prospect who did some good things on the Mohigans’ JV team last season and is looking to break through on the varsity team in 2024. He has quality size for a small college defensive lineman at 5’11 270 who also saw time on the offensive line as well. Our question for Siakam is which side of the line he performs better at and can he be a quick learner from the college colleges who will be coaching and teaching him at the combine? He’s a late bloomer whom you’ll need to be patient with but can develop into a quality prospect with continued development and learning. This will be a great opportunity for him to do just that during a big off-season for him as he takes the next step in his development and game.
Highlights
We got to see some film of Cabell Midland 2025 DB Elijah Pratt Elijah Pratt 5’8″ | 175 lbs | DB Cabell Midland | 2025 WV since our last rankings update came out and liked what we saw from the rising senior. Pratt has garnered some college interest this off-season and claims an offer from D2 WV State, but it will be great to get him on our radar more at the combine. You can tell he’s a quality athlete just from watching his film and is a multi-sport athlete for the Knights with a wrestling and track background too. Size will likely be what colleges will be questioning the most from Pratt, but he’s a strong and compact athlete from his wrestling and Olympic weightlifting training. He also appears to be a fluid athlete who should test well at the combine and looks good on film covering ground and playing in space. Our question for Pratt will be how good his testing numbers will be and can he perform well in man coverage as a safety prospect? Pratt appears to be an intelligent player on the field who knows what to do and where to be on every play with a good understanding of his assignments. That should translate to 1-on-1s and could be an under-the-radar player heading into the combine that ends up being a top performer.
Independence defensive lineman Myles Greenway Myles Greenway 6’1″ | 215 lbs | DL Independence | 2025 WV is a new name on our radar and are excited to see him in person at the combine. The 6’1 215 rising senior was very productive for the Patriots in 2023 while earning Class AA All-Coalfields Conference honors. Greenway totaled 81.5 total tackles, 12 TFLs, and 4.5 sacks as a junior but doesn’t have any available film at this time. We’ll get a better understanding of his game and talent level at the combine, but the production is there on a quality team. Our question for him going into the event will just be what can he do and how he looks overall since that’s an unknown to us right now. He’ll have some stiff competition to go up against in a talented linemen group scheduled to be in attendance, so we should get a great idea of his capabilities by the end of the camp.
Highlights
Shady Spring big man Jon Cantley Jon Cantley 6’0″ | 240 lbs | DL Shady Spring | 2025 WV has been a steady player for the Tigers and a three-year starter on the offensive line. We have him on our Watch List as a defensive lineman for now but could flip him over to the offensive side of the ball based on his combine performance. Size has been the main culprit as to why he hasn’t made our rankings yet, but a great performance at the camp in front of us in person could quickly change how we view him. That’s another reason why we like him as a DL prospect and is someone who could likely bulk up and play along the interior of the defensive line at the next level. Cantley has the physicality for each position already down with quality athleticism to pair with it which gives him a good foundation to build on with added size. We’ll be looking for him to answer which side of the line he fits best at, and will his physicality from game days show up at the combine?
Riverside’s Casey Chapman Casey Chapman 6’0″ | 245 lbs | DL Riverside | 2025 WV is another defensive line prospect who may be a touch undersized but performs well on the field that we’ll get a great look at during the combine. Chapman was a Special Honorable Mention All-MSAC performer as a junior for the Warriors and could open eyes at the camp. Even being a bit undersized for his position, Chapman is a stout, strong athlete who uses his hands effectively and leverages his body well. That’s what we’ll be looking for in the 1-on-1s segment of the camp against some talented fellow linemen who should create some great battles in the trenches. Our biggest question that we’ll want answered for him is what his measurements will be. Chapman is listed as considerably bigger now than the previous measurements we had for him, so getting those confirmed will be very beneficial to determine what his ceiling can be.
Highlights
Another prospect new to our radar is Fairmont Senior’s Colin Walker Colin Walker 6’1″ | 205 lbs | LB Fairmont Senior | 2025 WV who we’ll get familiar with at the combine. We project Walker as a LB prospect with great size for the position at 6’1 210 but with no film available that is subject to change after seeing him in person during the camp. An event like the combine will be a good opportunity for Walker to get his name out there more and show what he is capable of while playing on a deep and very talented Fairmont Senior squad where the competition for playing time is fierce. Even reserve players on talented teams can earn college opportunities at events like this when playing time and film are limited. With small colleges in attendance, Walker could make himself known with good testing numbers and a strong overall performance. As someone with no film available right now, our question for Walker will be to see what he’s able to do and does his athleticism match up well with his quality size?