Midseason 3A Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist

<p>We're just over halfway through the regular season and after checking in with players by year, it's time to start preparing for our end of year awards. We're not sure exactly how, but we want to have a fan-voted element to this year's Player of the Year lists. That will come next month. For now, we wanted to give people an idea of where we stand with these awards.</p>   <p>You can check out our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/10/midseason-3a-offensive-player-of-the-year-watchlist/">3A Offensive Player of the Year watchlist here</a>. While this list won't be exhaustive, there's a good chance our 3A Defensive Player of the Year comes from this list. Here are some guys we think could take home the award.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top 3A Defensive Player of the Year Candidates</h2>   <p>As a note here, while Prep Redzone typically focuses more on college potential than high school stats, this is a notable exception. We're not simply giving the award to the highest-ranked player in the class and will instead seek to give it to the player who has the biggest impact on the game in each class.</p>   <p>Accordingly, there will be high-profile players who don't even make our check-ins and watch lists and there might be some players on the lists that don't end up gaining much traction on the recruiting trail. That being said, these players are some of the best in their class and deserve to be recognized.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Whether you believe the MaxPreps stat line or not, the film doesn't lie, and the film shows that Dibble has been an absolute menace off the edge. Dibble has elite size and speed and his bend has been impressive this season. His production is fantastic, both as a run defender and a pass-rusher and he's feared by offenses across the class.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Littlejohn started the year at Charlotte Christian but quickly transferred back to West Mecklenburg, where he's been fantastic on a pretty good defense. He's playing more off the edge, but for now, we still have him primarily as an off-ball linebacker, where we *think* he'll play at the college level. It all depends on how his body develops. The athleticism is off the charts and he'll succeed at any number of positions.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Ratliff has been exceptional on the interior of the defensive line. He's a unit on the inside, able to simply dig in his heels and hold his ground. It's rare to see a true nose tackle at the high school level anymore, but Ratliff plays primarily as a 0-technique in a 3-4. Still, his numbers are surprisingly robust for someone who plays that position. He has 23 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and even an interception.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Roberts doesn't have the recruiting hype that some of his teammates have, but he's putting together an impressive season. He plays both off the edge and as a second-level defender. As an edge rusher, he's top five in the class with 15 sacks, but since he's also an off-ball linebacker, he's getting the raw tackle numbers as well. We like him a bit more as an edge rusher, but he has the athleticism to entice a college as a stand-up defender as well.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Forrest is everywhere for Northwest Cabarrus, as he's among the top five in tackles among 3A players. But there's so much more to his game. He's made big play after big play, racking up 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, and three forced fumbles. Forrest has the athletic profile that Old Dominion looks for in its linebackers and that looks like a great match.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">In a 3A class littered with elite upperclassmen talent, Byrd is representing for the class of 2027. I was really excited to see him continue to improve his game after he burst onto the scene as a freshman last season. This year, he looks faster, stronger and more decisive on his way to picking up a bunch of tackles. He's producing more takeaways as well, with two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other 3A Defensive Player of the Year Candidates</h2>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Jack Earley, LB, South Brunswick</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Jamari Giles, LB, West Johnston</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='205617' first='Luke' last='Faulkner'], LB, Southern Nash</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1607071' first='Matthew' last='Smoot'], DB, Northside</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Deandre Brown, LB, Orange</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1159953' first='Lance' last='Henderson'], DB, Southern Durham</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1607067' first='Andrew' last='Rogers'], Edge, Dudley</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Nick Johnson, Edge, White Oak</h3>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='615368' first='Isaiah' last='Campbell'], IDL, Southern Durham </h3>   <p>Think we missed someone? Let me know on Twitter (@whelms21). Want to make sure we see you compete in person? Register for our <a href="https://events.prepredzone.com/e/1324/register/carolinas-stock-up-showcase">Stock Up Showcase</a> on Dec. 15. Use discount code HelmsPRZ2024 at checkout for $10 off your registration.</p>

We're just over halfway through the regular season and after checking in with players by year, it's time to start preparing for our end of year awards. We're not sure exactly how, but we want to have a fan-voted element to this year's Player of the Year lists. That will come next month. For now, we wanted to give people an idea of where we stand with these awards.