'25 Rankings: Defensive Linemen on the Verge of Greatness

I'm quite familiar with all of these defensive linemen. The common denominator here is they've all only scratched the surface of their potential. Nearly all of these players possess great size for their position, and all of them have room to grow from last season's highlight tape. With another full offseason, any one of these players could explode into the scene this Fall.    Orion is front and center of D-Linemen who could be in for a breakout season. To start, you've got to love his size. 6'4" 220 is enough to make any D2 coach take a close look. As for his tape, I like Orion's motor. There were several plays made by Orion that wouldn't have occurred without a bit of extra effort on Orion's part. As for pass rush, I'm not quite sure what to make of his upside yet. Considering his size, I believe his ceiling is high in that regard. I'm very "wait and see" when it comes to Orion and I hope to see him breakout this fall!     Franklin is someone who doesn't seem to have a big online presence, but he's someone whose film I like quite a bit. Considering the #237 spot in which he's ranked, I view Franklin as a Division 3 prospect. As a defensive end / EDGE, I like his effort and overall tenacity. Against the pass and outside runs, Franklin does a good job of shedding the block with decent hands, but great effort. Motor is such an important thing to have as a defensive lineman, and I like Franklin's motor based on his highlight tape. Other than that, I like Franklin's size, it looks like he has long arms, and his ceiling looks to be high. I'm not sure what kind of recruiting attention he has, but my gut says low D2 or high D3.     Creg is someone I've seen a few times this offseason. In the simplest terms, Creg is fundamentally great but lacks when it comes to athleticism. During all of his camp performances, I've been impressed with his initial burst and his extremely active hands. Although he's not very agile, Creg has been able to post wins against several great offensive lineman due to his fundamental prowess. On tape, Creg shows that same pass rush prowess with a bit better athleticism than I've seen in person. My gut tells me that Creg is a low D2 prospect, and a great fit in the MIAA. I absolutely won't count out a breakout season from Creg, because I wholeheartedly trust River Rouge with Creg's development.     AJ is another good D3 prospect on the defensive line. At his best, he's a solid run-stopper that completely eliminates his gap from the run game. There are several instances on film where AJ anchors down quite well and stops the inside run very well. Another thing I like quite a bit is his effort. Out of his stance, AJ explodes off the ball and does his best to work forward into the backfield. The thing is, I don't see a whole lot in terms of active hands or pass rush ability. I know he's shown a lot of flashes at offseason camps, and I know AJ is a very passionate football player. With a great season, I'd expect the whole MIAA to be after him.     Because of the work he's put in this offseason, Jude has solidified himself as a great D3 prospect. He's a bit of a wildcard because I haven't seen Jude in person plus his tape is a bit short. On film, I like Jude's initial getoff and overall effort. As a defensive end, he seems to have made a lot of plays. Outside of that, I don't see much when it comes to pass rush or physicality. Now, the reason for his top-220 ranking is I've heard Jude has performed very, very well at camps and has great athletic traits. Jude is someone who's relatively unknown in the grand scheme of things but has impressed a few people whom I trust.     I watched Kavion extremely closely during a Davenport Prospect camp a few months ago. There is a ton of potential with Kavion. To begin with, Kavion is a phenomenal athlete. His testing numbers were good, and he looked incredible in the drill portion. Plus, he was named as a Captain for Brother Rice this season. The thing is, Kavion wasn't great during the 1on1 period of the Davenport camp. He generally didn't know what he was going when it came to pass rush, to be frank. Though like I said, all of the tools are there for Kavion. Team Captain, new coaching staff, playing top-tier competition, etc. Although Kavion is ranked #214 right now- he can make a huge jump with a great season.

I'm quite familiar with all of these defensive linemen. The common denominator here is they've all only scratched the surface of their potential. Nearly all of these players possess great size for their position, and all of them have room to grow from last season's highlight tape. With another full offseason, any one of these players could explode into the scene this Fall.