Noteworthy Defensive Efforts: Week 7

Week 7's top defensive performances article is a great place to start when looking for up and coming talent as well as multiple seniors who are flying under the radar. We have seniors to know on the DL, at LB, and at safety. All of them are uncommitted, and have the talent and production and film to show they could play at the next level in some fashion. The front seven defenders in this week's article lived in the backfield, disrupting plays, making TFLs, and sacks and the backend athletes showed the ability to cover, grab INTs, and fill against the run game. Dive into this group with us! Enjoy!    Stats: 7 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 TFLs, 1 Sack, 1 PBU   The sophomore LB out of Racine Case is carving out a key role on the varsity defense. Week 7 was a great look at his ability to play in coverage and the open field overall. Erik has easy mobility from attacking downhill vs the run, sliding laterally in zone coverage or turning and running in man coverage or to get out to a receiver at the further edges of his zone. The underclassman has also shown solid awareness while in coverage, quickly finding receivers/RBs/TEs that he is responsible for. Against the run, Erik does a great job of filling his gap while also avoiding blockers. The 2027 is a well rounded prospect at the LB position.      Stats: 9 Tackles, 4 TFLs, 2 Sacks   The senior DL is an under the radar prospect to get eyes on. He has been a very disruptive defensive linemen, getting penetration, throwing off timing, and piling up the stats. Aiden is stout at the line of scrimmage and does a great job of using his hands and overall power to create separation from OL while holding the line of scrimmage. He plays with a high motor and has enough athleticism to pressure and chase down the QB when he gets outside the pocket. Check him out.      Stats: 12 Tackles, 1 TFL   Grant has made strong strides from last year to this year. He does a great job of consistently squeezing down the line when his man crashes inside or pulls away from him to erase the hole. The senior also uses his lateral agility to avoid blocks while holding the edge so that he can quickly make the tackle on the ball himself. The long, lean DE is excellent at playing with his hands his 6'3" length to make first contact and keep that separation. Lastly, it was very impressive watching how quickly he could find the ball and then get to it to make a play. Definitely give this senior a look.      Stats: 5 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FF   An impressive junior is the defensive back, [player_tooltip player_id='700179' first='Carson' last='Hodowanic'], out of Stanley- Boyd. The 5'10" 175 lbs CB has short film this week, but it was a very productive game. We see him bait the QB into a bad decision. Carson flashes the recovery speed to go make that INT and also showed it on the PBU when he got turned around, but had the quick feet and hips and closing speed to deliver a hit that broke up the pass. Another one of his strong hits got him his forced fumble too. The junior DB is a name to know over this next year of recruiting.      Stats: 8 Tackles, 3 TFLs   Finley just hit my radar, so we went to the film right away to see what he has to offer. The 5'10" 180 lbs athlete doesn't have the frame for the LB position necessarily, but he plays the game like an LB. Finley is a heat seeking missile on the field who seems to always find a way to get to the ball. However, the junior does it while not abandoning his assigned too early. You see him maintain his gap while also working towards the ball, and the junior has a nice closing burst to deliver a pop. Working through traffic, Finley has shown he can avoid block and turn or cut on a dime to chase down RBs on plays designed to go away from him. Give his film a watch.      Stats: 9 Tackles, 4 TFLs, 3 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 PBU   Another Racine Case standout is DB/OLB Mi'Sha Grayson. The senior is putting together a very productive season and seems to live in the backfield of offenses on a weekly basis. Mi'sha plays OLB for Racine Case, but at his size his best projection for his frame and skillset may be nickel. That way he can play off the ball, out in space. From there he can play to his strengths. Grayson has an effective burst when he blitzes to get through the line clean. Grayson is such a sound tackler who wraps up and runs his feet through his hits. The senior also shows the quick play recognition needed so he can react and fill a gap or make a play on the ball. Grayson is a quick, explosive, and agile athlete that is a consistent, weekly impact player on the Racine Case defense.      Stats: 7 Tackles   Another shorter film cut up, but the senior safety out of Beaver Dam needs the spotlight. He has a stout, powerful frame at 6' 210 lbs. The senior has the range to go from deep safety to the front seven to make tackles on the run game. Brandon tackles with power and is able to end forward progression on contact. He also does a great job of finding the ball and attacking it without letting himself get out of position. Get to know the senior with a look through this week and other tapes.      Stats: 7 Tackles, 1 INT   The Kaukauna defense has plenty of names to know, and today we are focusing our attention on the OLB Isaac Maas. The 6'2" 205 lbs senior LB has a strong frame with plenty of room to build onto it. In a very physical game, Isaac did a great job off the edge. He was able to set the edge and make tackles after getting off blocks. Maas has a well rounded game. You can rely on him to set the edge vs the run, and you can also have him cover the zone out in the curl to flats area. He has the easy mobility and the quick burst to close on the ball. Isaac is a versatile athlete off the edge. Make sure he is on your radars.

Week 7's top defensive performances article is a great place to start when looking for up and coming talent as well as multiple seniors who are flying under the radar. We have seniors to know on the DL, at LB, and at safety. All of them are uncommitted, and have the talent and production and film to show they could play at the next level in some fashion. The front seven defenders in this week's article lived in the backfield, disrupting plays, making TFLs, and sacks and the backend athletes showed the ability to cover, grab INTs, and fill against the run game. Dive into this group with us! Enjoy!