4A Defensive Stat Leaders

Degree is currently at Eleanor Roosevelt in PG county Maryland. He's been a tackling machine for the Raiders this season; racking up 80+ tackles and 1 forced fumble. At his 5'11 180lbs stature he'd make a good strong safety and excel in run support as he does currently from his linebacker position. Even with a DB body frame he is not a shoestring tackler at all, he sticks his nose in the box and shows aggression. Degree does a good job of hitting the ball carrier at the LOS and he's strong in pursuit along the edges, breaking down and making sure tackles. After this 80+ tackle season, I'm excited to see what Degree can do from now through his senior year.       Jenkins has been a consistent name as a stat leader and a familiar face to running backs around the county. Every time I come across this player he's improved his game. As a freshman and sophomore starter in the MIAA at Mt. Carmel, he proved to be a sideline-to-sideline backer. Since joining the Dundalk program he's put on a lot of size, growing from 210 to 235 currently and the power came with it. Jenkins is an absolute force in the center of that defense knocking defenders into the backfield any chance he gets. During the regular season Jenkins has accumulated 79 tackles, 14 TFL's and 1 sack. He even showed some ball carrying skills with 258 rush yards and 7 rushing touchdowns.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JenkinsJocquan/status/1827335819096392110 </div></figure>      Howard is our second Raider leading the 4A defensively. He's accumulated 8 sacks on the season with a career high early this season with 3 sacks in the game against New Town. Howard shows a variety of techniques at the LOS, he uses a bull rush where he does a good job of splitting the linemen in half. He's quick enough off the ball to shoot the gap and chase down the ball carrier in the run game. Howard also uses his strength and arm length to keep blockers at bay while he reads and reacts to the play in the back field. He sheds blocks easily and even uses his spin move to get off of blocks quickly. He recorded a sack and a forced fumbled after using his spin move this season.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/savvytino </div></figure>      Jackson is a rising star for Annapolis, recording 7 sacks, tying for second in the 4A class. Along with his 7 sacks he had 20 QB hurries 12 TFL's, and 6 deflected passes. Jackson is a diamond in the rough right now. He has a great frame to be a dominant edge rusher along with athleticism to be versatile. He shows some fancy footwork to blow past lineman but also can be a run stuffer when needed. Jacksons ceiling is high, he needs to be on someone's recruiting board asap, he will be a steal.       Butler has developed into a two-way weapon for Bowie and is rising to the top in the perfect manner. Butler is a player that I had the chance to evaluate back in 2022 at 8th grade FBU Maryland All-Star practice. Even back then I could see the skill and potential in his game. Butler has burst onto the varsity scene with 9 total interceptions with 164 INT return yards. He's rangy, he reads the QB from center field and closes on the ball quickly. When the ball is in the air it's another day in the park for Butler, he uses his ball skills from playing receiver to come down with interceptions. Butler recorded 500+ all-purpose yards and scored 5 TD's.       Whitaker is at the top of the 4A class for his second time in a row. When the ball is in the air, he high points the ball, showing off his vert and impressive return skills. He's an athlete that can be used at either safety position or offensively. At receiver he's a deep ball threat and very elusive. This season he's in second in the 4A with 6 INT's,105 return yards and 2 TD's.