PRZ WV Combine Top DL Performers & Best of the Rest
In this article:
Over 100 prospects competed and battled through tough weather conditions at the PRZ WV Combine on Saturday with many standouts making themselves known. Here are the defensive linemen who stood out and were selected as Top Performers by the college…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingOver 100 prospects competed and battled through tough weather conditions at the PRZ WV Combine on Saturday with many standouts making themselves known. Here are the defensive linemen who stood out and were selected as Top Performers by the college coaches in attendance coaching them up along with the best of the rest who deserved a mention too!
MVP
The Washington Patriots had a great showing from their linemen in attendance at the Combine with 2025 DL Isaiah Osafo-Mensah Isaiah Osafo-Mensah 6’2″ | 240 lbs | DL Washington | 2025 State WV earning our defensive line MVP. We’ve been high on him for a while now ever since seeing him in person last summer before his junior season. Osafo-Mensah is an impressive athlete for his size with a very quick first step and high acceleration off the line that gave some talented offensive linemen in 1-on-1s a lot of trouble. He was very consistent throughout the day and performed on the biggest stage during the final rep of the OL vs DL Top Performers 1-on-1s with everyone in attendance circled around them.
Osafo-Mensah has been a consistent Top 10 DL in the 2025 class in our rankings and backed that high praise up even further after Saturday’s event.
Top Performers
Independence’s Aaron Blankenship Aaron Blankenship 6’1″ | 240 lbs | DL Independence | 2026 State WV showed us why he’s currently ranked the #1 DL in the 2026 class after a very strong showing at the Combine. His quickness off the edge was impressive in person and was a trait of his that we weren’t as familiar with from only watching his film. Before the event, we thought of him as more of a power and strength athlete but having both of those athletic traits makes him even more of a well-rounded DL prospect. It’s going to be fun to watch how his body develops over the next two years as he further increases in size to give us a better idea if he’s an inside or outside DL prospect at the next level.
If he maintains the athleticism he currently has and adds mass, Blankenship can develop into a versatile pass-rushing and run-stopping interior lineman with a very high ceiling who has already shown flashes of it.
Highlights
Although unfamiliar with his game before the Combine, 2026 Pikeville (KY) DL Andrew Ferguson made the trek to Morgantown and made himself known very quickly. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought a sophomore in college snuck in to get some work instead of a sophomore in high school. Not only did Ferguson look the part physically, but his play throughout the camp earned him a spot in the DL Top 5 Performers group. He’s a strong athlete with good length who is well ahead of most 2026 prospects at this stage of their development. Ferguson is a highly physical player who also moves well for his size.
You could see why he’s ranked just outside of the Top 50 by our Kentucky site and the #6 ranked DL in the class.
Highlights
We were very glad to see our #1 and #2 ranked defensive linemen in the 2026 class come out and attend the Combine and show why we think so highly of them both. Huntington’s Max Bohren Max Bohren 6’4″ | 210 lbs | DL Huntington | 2026 State WV also earned DL Top Performer honors by the college coaches in attendance and proved the high regard we have for him. Bohren has great length for a sophomore and has tremendous upside as a prospect as he continues filling out his frame. He’s a physical and athletic big man with a very high ceiling that he flashed last season for the Highlanders’ varsity team and at the camp.
Bohren moves well for his size and age and is a great competitor which he shows in any setting that he’s in. He has an exciting future and should develop into a D1-level prospect by the time he’s a senior.
The surprise of the defensive line group had to be George Washington’s Braylon Watts Braylon Watts 5’11” | 255 lbs | DL George Washington | 2027 WV . The 2027 freshman came into the event as mostly unknown to us due to lack of film, but he proved to be one of the Top 5 DL Performers according to the college coaches who were evaluating and coaching him. His best football is ahead of him as expected for a freshman, but Watts came in and performed at a high level against some very talented and older offensive linemen in attendance.
As he gets bigger and stronger over the next three years, Watts will further realize the potential he has as a prospect but is off to a great start to his development and high school career.
Highlights
Best of the Rest
Woodrow Wilson’s Drake Bowling Drake Bowling 6’0″ | 250 lbs | DL Woodrow Wilson | 2025 State WV has competed at PRZ camps before and is a talented defensive lineman in his own right who was deserving of a mention with the best of the rest. He may not have had the amount of length as some of the other defensive linemen at the Combine, but Bowling is a strong and physical athlete who should be a productive interior lineman at the next level. Bowling has a compact and strong build that makes him a tough block for guards and centers. He’s someone who can show what he can do on a bigger scale during a real game when there’s a running game to stop but does have the ability to rush the passer in a 1-on-1 setting.
Bowling is the type of defensive lineman who can take on double teams and stuff the run in the interior but flashes the ability to leak into the backfield and harass the passer at times too.
Highlights
2025 Shady Spring defensive lineman Nathan Hill Nathan Hill 6’1″ | 285 lbs | DL Shady Spring | 2025 State WV is in a similar situation as more of a run-stuffing interior DL but still did some good things in 1-on-1s in a pass-rush environment. Hill has a big frame and is a strong defensive tackle prospect who was able to win some 1-on-1 reps from his power alone. Hill can take up a lot of space in the middle of the line and is better suited as a run-stopper which is difficult to show in a camp setting without true contact and a full line.
He was still able to flash during the event and backed up why we recently ranked him as a Top 20 DL in the class.
Highlights
2025 Hurricane lineman Logan French Logan French 6’0″ | 255 lbs | OL Hurricane | 2025 WV was a pleasant surprise during the Combine and someone who we considered an OL prospect coming into the event but worked out as a defensive lineman. We hadn’t seen much DL film from him before the camp, and French gave us another aspect of his game to evaluate and think about moving forward. He was able to flash some quality athleticism for his size and surprised offensive linemen with his quickness off the line at times.
French is flying under the radar right now as someone who hasn’t gotten much playing time at the varsity level but was able to show what he can do on a bigger scale at the Combine in front of college coaches in attendance. We expect him to see a much bigger role for the Redskins in 2024 for his senior season.
Parkersburg South’s Tyson Wagoner Tyson Wagoner 6’0″ | 285 lbs | DL Parkersburg South | 2025 WV is another name that a lot of people may not know right now but likely caught some attention during the Combine. He’s a small college prospect who isn’t big on social media but did a nice job in front of the college coaches in attendance. Wagoner was very productive for the Patriots last season on both sides of the ball but has found a nice niche along the defensive interior.
He totaled 63 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks as a junior in 2023 as a run-stopping defensive tackle. Wagoner has underrated film that is worthy of taking a look at and gives you a better idea of what he’s capable of outisde of a camp setting that can be tougher for interior defensive linemen.
Another Independence defensive lineman who did some good things during the Combine was 2025 Myles Greenway Myles Greenway 6’1″ | 215 lbs | DL Independence | 2025 WV . We had yet to see Greenway play before the event due to no available film, but he flashed throughout the camp. He’s a pure defensive end prospect who will only get better with the more size he adds but has an athletic build right now that can cause trouble for stiffer offensive tackles. Greenway was a very productive player for the Patriots as a junior last season and should be able to build on that performance in 2024 as a senior.
Greenway produced some quality testing numbers in tough weather conditions further backing up what we saw in the other portions of the camp.
Highlights
It was great to finally get our eyes on 2027 Williamstown defensive lineman Christian Hoosier Christian Hoosier 6’0″ | 220 lbs | DL Williamstown | 2027 WV who we put on our 2027 Watch List this winter but had yet to see him play or evaluate any film. Hoosier is an impressive-looking athlete for a freshman who also tested well for a young lineman prospect in wet conditions. He should be in line for more playing time in 2024 as a sophomore at one of the best small school programs in the state. There were some talented 2027 linemen at the Combine and Hoosier was able to stick out among them.
The Hoosier name has had a lot of success at Williamstown, and we expect the latest one to see success in time just as the ones before him.
Highlights
Elijah Ferguson
Elijah Ferguson
Both Ferguson brothers made the long trip from Pikeville (KY) and earned themselves some notoriety from PRZ WV. Older brother Andrew was named a DL Top Performer but younger brother Elijah deserved some praise as well. He’s not quite as big as his brother yet, but I have a feeling he’ll develop into a quality player over time just as his brother has. Both brothers have the physicality you’re looking for in a defensive lineman and Elijah certainly has that trait as he showed during the event and when watching his film. He’s someone who may play inside or outside depending on how much he grows by the time he’s a senior and had good reps at both in 1-on-1s and last season as a freshman.
I thought his offensive line film was quality as well, and he plays at the same level on both sides of the line as a two-way player which is great to see in a young athlete.