Weekly Recap- 2027s Who Took Over on Defense Last Week

We saw a ton of dominant defenses take the field last week- today we are highlighting some of the players who put together some of their best performances yet! Look out for these guys!    [player_tooltip player_id='828367' first='Robert' last='Taylor III']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/robert-taylor-iii/"></a> is a dominant defensive lineman that has played extremely well over his first two years as a starter- so far in his sophomore season, Taylor has strung together a couple of dominant performances. One of those performances was last week against Hoover, Taylor was in the backfield nearly every snap and was a large reason why his team was able to get the 14-10 win. Taylor is a dominant force off the edge- he has a terrific first step, some great speed and strength, and a motor he uses to make plays throughout all four quarters of a game. No matter what opposing offenses run, Taylor will find a way to make their lives a lot harder with how well he's able to beat opposing linemen and make plays in the backfield. It was easy to see this on tape last week against Hoover, Taylor was all over the field and ended up finishing his night with 6 total tackles and 4 sacks. It's really impressive how fast Taylor has become one of the top defensive line talents in the state- as a sophomore he's put together some great film and is going to be a player to watch for the rest of this year!     [player_tooltip player_id='452226' first='Jiyez' last='Fleming']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jiyez-fleming/"></a> is a really talented outside linebacker out of Oxford that is following up his breakout freshman season in some big ways this fall. Fleming has been highly productive this season, especially this last week against Helena- he came up huge for his team's defense in their 35-10 win by putting up one of his best performances to date. Fleming is a talented pass rusher who can seriously impact the quarterback in a lot of ways- he has a great first step, explodes off the line, and can rip, bull rush, and fly by offensive linemen to bring pressure and rack up sacks. Fleming also does a great job playing against the run- he utilizes his pursuit and sideline-to-sideline speed to track and take down the ball carrier all over the field, regardless of where he initially lined up pre-snap. It was easy to see Fleming do all of this last week- he ended the game with 11 total tackles (6 solo, 5 assisted) and 2 sacks, consistently making plays in the backfield for huge losses. Be sure to watch Fleming going forward, he's a seriously talented underclassman that's going to continue to get better and make more plays!     [player_tooltip player_id='1014914' first='Kalib' last='Spivey']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/kalib-spivey/"></a> is a dominant defensive end out of Benjamin Russell that has established himself as a serious force in the trenches and as one of the top talents in the state's 2027 class. Spivey is unblockable, and it was easy to see this past week against Charles Henderson when the sophomore continued to dominate the line of scrimmage in his team's 29-0 shutout win. At 6'2 230 Spivey can move around the field extremely well- he's a consistent threat against the run, as a pass rusher, and really all over the field with how well he sheds blocks, finds the ballcarrier, and makes plays. If you watched Benjamin Russell last Friday you'd see how easy it was for Spivey to do these things- he ended the game with 5 total tackles (3 solo, 2 assisted, 2 for loss), 4 quarterback hurries, and a blocked punt. It's been really impressive watching what Spivey's been able to accomplish in year two- he's a talented player who is going to end up as one of the top DL recruits in not just the state, but the nation as well. Be sure to watch him throughout the rest of this season, he's bound to showcase more performances like this one!     [player_tooltip player_id='1263893' first='Camaree' last='Gooden'] is a really versatile athlete out of Gardendale that was listed as a WR last season, but has found his true home at defensive back this year. Gooden has looked super promising at DB this year, but last week's performance against Central all but guaranteed that he's going to be a great player at his position. Gooden flew around the field and made plays all night in his team's 33-28 win over Central- it didn't matter what Central tried, he found a way to respond and make plays. Gooden plays with a ton of speed, instincts, and aggression that make him a really tough-to-beat DB. He does a great job out in coverage working against wide receivers but is also a reliable defender in the run game that isn't afraid to lower his shoulder and make plays. Last week Gooden played extremely well and had a night that featured him racking up 8 total tackles (6 solo, 2 assisted, 2 for loss) and one sack Be sure to keep watching Gooden the rest of this season, he's found a home at DB and shows no signs of slowing down!

We saw a ton of dominant defenses take the field last week- today we are highlighting some of the players who put together some of their best performances yet! Look out for these guys!