2025 Stock-Risers: Defensive Backs That Caught Our Eyes

In our final stock-risers piece for the class of 2025, I'm taking a look as some defensive backs who had strong offseasons and improved their stock on Prep Redzone North Carolina's site. These are the guys who flew up the rankings in our latest rankings update and deserve to be celebrated for their hard work and achievements on and off the field this offseason.   Here are a few defensive backs who moved up our rankings.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2025 Defensive Back Stock-Risers</h2>    Ranier isn't the biggest corner, but he's extremely technically-sound in coverage. If you've followed high school football or Prep Redzone for any length of time, you know that shouldn't be a surprise for a cover corner out of Hough, but Rainer's hips, feet and backpedal all stand out immediately on film. Perhaps most impressive is how calm Rainer is in coverage. I'd still like him to add a bit of weight, especially given that he'll need to mix it up more in the running game at the FBS level, but if you want some teaching tape, turn on Rainer's coverage film.     Sharpe is a standout basketball (our sister site, Prep Hoops, has him ranked inside the top 10 in the state) and might not even play football at the college level. If he does though, a school will be getting a really unique skillset. Sharpe's length, physicality and leaping ability make him an incredibly unique corner who often baffles opposing receivers and quarterbacks. He's a tackling machine and has great ball skills. We're going to keep him high on our list because the skillset will translate, if he pursues football.     While he's listed as an athlete here on Prep Redzone, I personally think McCaffrey's skillset is best suited at free safety. His height screams receiver, but sometimes, a rare breed of player has the hips, lateral quickness and instincts to play safety, even at 6'4". He's excellent in single-high coverage and reads the eyes of opposing quarterbacks masterfully, leading to a lot of interceptions and deflected passes in zone coverage.     Larkins is a bit undersized, but he's as physical as they get for a defensive back in the running game. He can play safety or corner and I moved him up after he stood out at a practice with a bunch of players we had ranked above him. With a bit more game action (he missed a few games last season) he's a guy who could make a second big leap in the next rankings update.     Barber is neither the biggest, nor the fastest corner in the state, but he's till one of the most physical. He has solid technique and uses his hands well in coverage. He loves to press and has the ability to play both man and zone, making him a moldable corner capable of playing in a variety of

In our final stock-risers piece for the class of 2025, I'm taking a look as some defensive backs who had strong offseasons and improved their stock on Prep Redzone North Carolina's site. These are the guys who flew up the rankings in our latest rankings update and deserve to be celebrated for their hard work and achievements on and off the field this offseason.