Butler at Independence – Defensive Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The latest edition of the King Of The Hill Rivalry was a great game that ended up with the Patriots winning 41-34 over the Bulldogs. There were some key defensive plays made by some talented players in this game who we will highlight in this article. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["771231"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67295b5ec14ac"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Dallas has played up to the #2 ranking in the Class of 2026 Linebackers, and in this game the highly recruited prospect ended up with 9 tackles, a lot of them being big stops to get the Bulldogs off the field in critical situations. Dallas did a good job of not staying blocked against a good offensive line and run scheme by the Bulldogs. Dallas tackles exceptionally well in open space, and his eyes are not easily influenced by play-action or fakes. I expect Dallas to continue to earn more Power 4 offers as we get into the off-season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1283725"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67295b5ec1519"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Cam had an excellent game with 10 Tackles, 2 Tackles for loss, and a sack - the sack probably being the biggest play of the game. On 3rd and 8 and down 34-27 late in the 4th quarter, Cam was able to penetrate in the backfield and stop what looked like was going to be a pass from the Wildcat formation. The play ended up being a 10-yard loss, leading to a muffed field goal attempt and a game-sealing TD run right after that. Here is a clip of that play from Cam himself: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/Camden06Martin/status/1852865697153503323?t=OITS57z-z7_iYQYAG6HZQw&amp;s=19">https://twitter.com/Camden06Martin/status/1852865697153503323?t=OITS57z-z7_iYQYAG6HZQw&amp;s=19</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1550010,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1332108' first='Ricky' last='Myers Jr']. ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"175","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2495","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Independence","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67295b5ec15d3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ricky is having a good junior season and is playing himself into our next rankings update as a result. Ricky had a nice interception right before halftime where he leapt in the air and high-pointed the football beautifully in his hands. Ricky does a good job in both man and zone concepts in pass coverage. Most impressive is the run support Ricky provided, coming up with 9 total tackles in the game from his cornerback position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1550021,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Deshawn Wilks","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"220","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"5926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Independence","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67295b5ec166d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">This is the second time I have seen DeShawn live and in person, and this is the second time he has really impressed me with his play. He has really good EDGE position size at 6'4 and 220 pounds, and he could be a player someone gets as a steal from a recruiting perspective if everything lines up right. DeShawn was the leading tackler in the game for the Patriots with 11 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. He was consistently disruptive at the line of scrimmage, as the Bulldogs were attacking a lot off tackle in their run scheme. I like how DeShawn gets off the ball and uses his hands to shed blocks against offensive linemen especially. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Lej'end Lockwood","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"195","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Butler","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67295b5ec16ff"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The freshman linebacker made an impact play for the Bulldogs, recovering a Patriots' fumble and returning it deep into the red zone to setup a touchdown that would tie the game at 27-27 late in the 3rd quarter. Overall for the game, Lej'end had 10 total tackles with 3 tackles for loss. I liked how Lej"end wasn't afraid of the moment as a young player and his pursuit was impressive as an outside linebacker. He is on my personal watch list for our next rankings update for Prep RedZone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->