Sonoma County Top 2025 Prospects: Defense

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Deep dive into the top 2025 defensive prospects in Sonoma County.</h2>    The Rice commit is one of the top 2025 DL prospects in northern California. At 6'2” 270 lbs. he's got excellent size and growth potential for the interior line at the college level. He's a powerful initial striker with the natural strength in his lower body and hands to take over the line of scrimmage. Quick and violent hands allow him to control blockers and then shed to disengage from contact. Shows he can work laterally and chase to close space on the ball carrier against both the run and pass. Rooks is currently the #12 DL prospect in the state and #103 overall. Holds 17 total offers.      Exceptional natural athleticism and speed for the 6'3” 250 lb. DE out of Cardinal Newman. His initial quickness allows him to explode off the ball and bend off the edge to collapse the pocket and create pressure. Violent with his hands, he gets a strong inside punch to lock out defenders and maintain separation. Versatility and movement skills allow him to be effective stopping the inside run game and also work to the perimeter and track down ball carriers in space. Excellent block recognition ability to defeat double teams, reach blocks, and kick outs. Committed to Oregon State over eight other offers including SDSU, Washington State, and Fresno State.     McKenzie is an underrated prospect on a team with three D1 defensive linemen. At 6'1” 240 lbs. he's got a compact and well-balanced build and leads the team in sacks with nine on the season thus far. Size, athleticism, and versatility could allow him to transition well to multiple spots on the DL at the college level. Highly technical with his fundamentals, his hand usage and footwork are efficient with limited wasted movement. Aggressive and violent at the contact point, he's able to overpower opponents with good use of leverage and contact balance. Disrupts plays with his combination of speed, power, and technique. Picked up his first D1 offer from San Diego in September and also holds a handful of D3 offers. Expect his recruitment to rise going forward.      Rodriguez is an active defender that's been flying under the radar for one of the top teams in the North Coast Section. At 6'2” 220 lbs. he's got a high football IQ to diagnose run/pass and put himself in position to make a play. Displays good eye discipline to make quick decisive reads and trigger to the ball. Can beat blocks with his strength to take them on and shed or use his athleticism to avoid contact and work around. Strong at the POA he's able to anchor down and hold his ground and delivers heavy contact as a tackler. Also showed good ability to rush the passer and collapse the pocket quickly.      Two-way playmaker for another one of the top teams in the county. 6'0” 175 lbs. he's a smooth and savvy athlete that is able to quickly transition out of his back pedal and get over the top. Does a good job moving his feet to match lateral movement while staying on the hip of the receiver to be in phase at all three levels. Smart player that understands coverages and situational football to put himself in position make plays. High level competitor that plays hard and attacks the ball at the high point. Not afraid to tackle, he takes good angles and can break down in space to deliver strong contact.