New DL Added to the 2025 Rankings: Pt. 2

In part two of this series, we finish our deep dive into the defensive linemen who were recently added to the 2025 rankings. With the 2024 season quickly approaching, these prospects are poised to be game-changers for their teams. Each of these players has something unique to offer, and they're gearing up to make the most of their final high school season.    [player_tooltip player_id='1353821' first='Talan' last='Flores'] had an extremely productive junior season for Thunderbird's defense. Setting the bar quite high for himself, he ended the year with 74 tackles, 16.5 of those for loss, and seven sacks. It's easy to see why when throwing on Flores' tape. With impressive strength that often surprises bigger linemen, he's able to consistently drive his opponent back and give him depth into the backfield. Has some excellent footwork when firing off the line of scrimmage and actively uses his hands to keep the offense from ever really getting engaged with him. It's going to take a lot to one-up his junior year, but Flores has all the tools to come out and have an even more dominant senior season.      [player_tooltip player_id='1353878' first='Daunte' last='Messina'] is stifling against the run for O'Connor's defense. With both rip and swim moves that have proven to be difficult for the offense to handle, he can get into the backfield before the handoff has even been made. Once he finds the ball carrier he uses his long reach to pull them in and at 6'3" 290 lbs, he has the strength to make sure they hardly ever get away. When he doesn't use one of his many pass-rush moves, he's strong enough to drive back linemen while he keeps his eyes on the ball. Able to shed his blocker in an instant and attack whoever has it. Getting the quarterback on the ground just one time in his junior season, I expect that number to take a massive jump in 2024.      [player_tooltip player_id='1353915' first='Braydon' last='Tatko'] plays the game very aggressively on both sides of the ball. On the offensive end, he has some quick feet that always seem to have him in the right position. His strong hands come into play as he shoves off defenders to give him time to reset. Defensively those quick feet help him get a good drive off the ball and he can use his strength to create a lane for him to get into the backfield. Coming off a season with five tackles for loss, Tatko is a player that could turn some heads in his final season of high school football.      At 6'4" and 230 lbs, [player_tooltip player_id='1353777' first='Dominick' last='Barron'] is a towering presence out there for Tolleson's defense. Even at that height, he does a nice job of making sure he doesn't lose leverage and has a very low base when trying to get into the backfield. Although he was only able to get the credit for a single sack last season, he was still very disruptive against the pass and caused forced plenty of rushed throws with his long arms. As he continues to work on quickening his feet, Barron is a prospect that has the size and strength to be a dominant force. If he puts it all together in 2024 he's sure to garner lots of attention.      An incredible versatile threat on both sides of the ball, I recently wrote about [player_tooltip player_id='1353945' first='David' last='Baba'] and his abilities as a tight end for Ironwood Ridge. He's got sneaky speed for a stalky player and very secure hands, but defensively is where he truly shines. I mention in the previous write-up, "Defensively, he's a strong and aggressive presence that has incredible burst that those in the trenches can't keep up with," and that may be putting it lightly. He's a player that both quarterbacks and running backs don't want to see get through the line of scrimmage with his hard-hitting ways. Baba finished his junior year with six tackles for loss and four sacks and is in a prime spot to surpass both those numbers in 2024. He's a player coaches should have on their big board.      [player_tooltip player_id='1258654' first='Collin' last='Hauser'] has really impressive speed coming off the edge. Part of a deep Basha position group, he's got nice bend and that quickness will make him really effective attacking opposing quarterbacks. I was able to get eyes on Hauser at the PrepRedzone AZ combine back in late April, and he really let his athleticism shine. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash and shuttle time of any linemen in attendance at the event. He also was an inch shy of the best brad jump while running the second-fastest L-drill. to be able to do all of this while standing at 6'3" and 210 lbs, Hauser is a player coaches don't want to miss going into his senior year. After not being able to play his junior season, the Basha defensive end is looking to make a real impact in 2024.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CollinJHauser/status/1798821342013464967 </div></figure>

In part two of this series, we finish our deep dive into the defensive linemen who were recently added to the 2025 rankings. With the 2024 season quickly approaching, these prospects are poised to be game-changers for their teams. Each of these players has something unique to offer, and they're gearing up to make the most of their final high school season.