Twitter Film Room: Breaking down our best Defenders

<p>We saw some excellent defense this past week. Specifically, a few great defensive performances showed up in my Twitter replies. This article will showcase some of the best defensive performances from that thread! </p>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1327706' first='Keegan' last='McCue'] of Hackett Prep had one heck of a game against Otsego. </p>   <p>I really like the week 2 tape. The overarching theme of Week 2 was aggression. Against the outside run, Keegan did a great job of attacking the ballcarrier all the way from the safety position. One of the top things I look for in a safety is willingness to stop the run, and Keegan seems like an excellent run stopper.</p>   <p>On top of that... Keegan had an interception (near pick-six), a forced fumble, and a blocked punt (teammate returned for a TD). </p>   <p>The pick was off a way-underthrown pass, so good job for keeping concentration and making a play. </p>   <p>On the punt block, Keegan did a good job of finding a lane and laying out to make the block. </p>   <p>The forced fumble is Keegan's best play. He takes a great angle to the receiver, wraps him up, and straight-up rips the ball from his hands. </p>   <p>I'm intrigued by Keegan. If he keeps playing how he played during Week 2, he'll be a ranked player in no time. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mccue_keegan12/status/1832554422418747478 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">I don't have a whole lot of film to go off of, but it seems like Kaelin should be on my radar at the very least.</p>   <p>His statline is amazing, especially for a 2027 prospect. In a few weeks, I'd love to see a mid-season highlight tape. </p>   <p>The one play that I can see shows a phenomenal hit-stick. It seems like Kaelin came down from his DB/S position to lay the wood on an unsuspecting receiver. If he can hit like that and have those stats, I'd expect Kaelin to be a good athlete and overall a future college prospect. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DeputyTate/status/1832592178687643689 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Kade had himself another great game. This time, we got to see what he's able to do against a run-heavy offense.</p>   <p>A general theme of his tape is that he did his job and he did it well. Specifically, Kade did a great job defending the option. At 0:28, Kade made an excellent read sticking onto the QB and preventing the pitch. At 0:49, he stays home and correctly reads the QB keeper and once again brings him down. Several other times, Kade makes good run stops, usually while lining up on-ball. </p>   <p>Offensively, Kade had a great TD catch out of the backfield. It was great play design, and an even better run after catch and power to secure the TD.</p>   <p>Kade is solidifying himself as one of the best defenders in West Michigan. I fully expect to see many, many more great performances this season. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Kade_Friesen1/status/1832809358733844824 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Ethan is back at Hudsonville, and he just played a massive role in defeating an excellent East Lansing squad. </p>   <p>His first highlight shows an excellent sideline stop to win the game. Even better, Hudsonville would probably lose this game without Ethan's athleticism on the field. I actually don't think it was a bad read by the QB. His tight end looked wide open, but Ethan snuffed that out real quickly. Ethan's second highlight shows him making an excellent stop as he cuts off the screen pass. The rest of his tape showcases great effort on a lot of outside plays. Great win for Hudsonville, and a great performance by Ethan! </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EthanCarterEC/status/1832925707476852996 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Luke (Safety) had another very good week. This week, he was a major piece of run support going up against an elite rushing offense. A few Muskegon runs broke through the second level, and on seemingly all occasions, Luke was able to make the tackle. Even better, Luke made tackles near the line of scrimmage on some of their slower-developing plays, which is incredible for a Safety. Luke was also able to show some reactivity and range on a solid PBU. </p>   <p>I'm very excited to see what Luke will do for the rest of the season. I'm also very excited to see what kind of college attention he receives this offseason! </p>    <p><a href="https://twitter.com/LukeAhern12/status/1832822708628844657">https://twitter.com/LukeAhern12/status/1832822708628844657</a></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Van Beek had a great day against what I'd call a hesitant Traverse City West offense. </p>   <p>Connor's second highlight shows off great reactivity on the pitch. He cuts inside early, then immediately explodes outside once he senses the pitch. Several other highlights show some amazing hits and he's truly an enforcer at the outside linebacker position. Last week, Connor played with intensity and decisiveness. At this point, he's playing on-par with my preseason all-state evaluation. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/connorvanbeekk/status/1832825681337585683 </div></figure>

We saw some excellent defense this past week. Specifically, a few great defensive performances showed up in my Twitter replies. This article will showcase some of the best defensive performances from that thread!