Louisville 2026s to Watch: Defense

With the month of March coming to an end, the 2025 high school football offseason is in full swing! As we head into a new season, I wanted to take some time to preview some incoming seniors in different areas across the Bluegrass State. After already covering the city of Lexington, I have now turned my attention to the talented prospects in Louisville. With the offensive side of the ball already taken care of, here are some players from the city of Louisville to watch in the class of 2026 on the defensive side of the ball.    [player_tooltip player_id='1175788' first='Karsten' last='Busch'] has been one of the top overall players in the state over the past couple seasons. He lined up mainly at outside linebacker this past season, but has also shown the versatility to play inside linebacker. Busch is an impressive pass rusher off the edge, using his speed and bend to blow by opposing offensive tackles with ease on his way to the quarterback. He finished his junior year with seven sacks in 12 games. Karsten has also shown the ability to stop the run , finishing the season with 59 tackles and 12 tackles for loss. Busch is committed to Louisville where I can see him finding a key role in their defense once he gets there.     [player_tooltip player_id='283969' first='Jackson' last='Settle'] is another linebacker who had a solid junior year. He lines up at inside linebacker where he is very impressive against the run. Jackson does a great job of reading his keys and flowing to the ball carrier in a hurry. Once he gets to the ball carrier, he explodes through contact and finishes his tackles with a ton of physicality. Settle finished his junior year with a team-high 85 tackles and 19 tackles for loss in 14 games. He also showed the ability to blitz effectively against the pass, finishing the year with five sacks. Jackson currently holds an offer from Presbyterian College and I expect more to come his way going into his senior year.     Another member of the CAL defense who stood out this past season is [player_tooltip player_id='401928' first='Stone' last='Perkins']. Perkins lined up at corner as a junior where he was very impressive in coverage. He does a great job of reading route combinations then breaking on the ball with perfect timing to make a play when it is thrown his way. Stone finished this past season with several pass breakups and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown, in 15 games. Perkins also finished the year with 32 tackles and one tackle for loss, and made an impact on offense at receiver, catching 23 passes for 445 yards and four touchdowns. Stone is committed to Ball State where I can see him making an early impact in their secondary once he gets there.     I honestly could've included [player_tooltip player_id='401694' first='Colin' last='Jefferson'] on either side of the ball for this series but he stood out to me the most on defense this past season. Jefferson lines up at safety where he is a true ball hawk in coverage. He does a great job of reading the play and flowing through the secondary accordingly. When the ball is in the air, he has shown the ability to break with perfect timing and cover a lot of ground to make a play on the ball. Jefferson finished his junior year with a team-leading four interceptions in 12 games. He also finished the season with 13 tackles and one tackle for loss, while also returning one punt for a touchdown. On offense, Colin caught 14 passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. Jefferson currently holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I expect more to come his way as he is a true Division I caliber prospect.     [player_tooltip player_id='401927' first='Steron' last='Davidson'] is another member of the Male secondary who impressed as a junior. He has shown the versatility to line up both outside at corner and in the slot at nickel. Davidson is reliable in zone coverage, showing the ability to read route combinations and flow through the secondary to put himself in position to make a play. He has also shown that he can play man coverage, using his speed to mirror receivers' routes. Davidson finished his junior year with one interception and several pass deflections in 11 games. He also finished the season with 28 tackles and one tackle for loss, and ran the ball 22 times for 202 yards and a touchdown on offense. Davidson also proved to be a reliable returner on special teams. Steron currently holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I expect that list to grow going into his senior year.     [player_tooltip player_id='401701' first='Corey' last='Warner'] is a player who has been high on my radar for a while now and continued to impress as a junior. Warner lines up at corner where he is very reliable in man coverage. He does a great job of opening up with receivers and mirroring their routes, staying in their hip pocket the whole way. When the ball is thrown his way, he reacts with perfect timing to make a play. Corey finished this past season with one interception and several pass breakups in 12 games. He also showed the ability to provide support against the run, finishing the year with 34 tackles and two tackles for loss. Warner currently holds offers from Southeast Missouri State, Miami (OH),Eastern Michigan, Eastern Kentucky, and Toledo, and I expect more to come his way this upcoming season.     [player_tooltip player_id='1326127' first='James' last='Briscoe'] is another defensive back who has been high on our radar for a while now. He has shown the versatility to line up at both safety and corner. Briscoe does a great job of reading both the quarterback and route combinations to put himself in a good position to make a play. When the ball is thrown his way, he has shown impressive ball skills, finishing this past season with a team-high four interceptions in 13 games, returning one of them for a touchdown. Briscoe also finished the year with 42 tackles and one tackle for loss, and also made an impact on offense, catching nine passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. James currently holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I expect more to come his way as he has the talent to at the Division I level.     [player_tooltip player_id='971494' first='Quilshaun' last='Baines'] is another member of the Atherton secondary who stood out to me this past season. Baines lines up a safety where he is very impressive in coverage. He does a great job of reading the play then covering a ton of ground when the ball is in the air to make a play. Baines finished this past season with three interceptions in eight games, returning one of them for a touchdown. He also showed the ability to fill the lane to make tackles against the run, finishing the year with 40 tackles and three tackles for loss. Baines currently holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I can see more coming his way going into his final season.     My final under the radar defensive prospect to watch in the class of 2026 in the state of Kentucky is [player_tooltip player_id='1175823' first='Donee' last='Sutton']. Sutton lined up at inside linebacker this past season where he was very impressive against the run. He read his keys quickly then explodes downhill out of his stance to get to the ball carrier before they can get going. Once he gets to the ball carrier, he runs his feet through contact to secure the tackle. Sutton finished his junior year with 85 tackles and nine tackles for loss in 13 games. He also showed the ability to put pressure on the quarterback, finishing the season with three sacks. Donee doesn't currently hold any offers but he is definitely a player who colleges coaches should have their eyes on heading into his senior year.

With the month of March coming to an end, the 2025 high school football offseason is in full swing! As we head into a new season, I wanted to take some time to preview some incoming seniors in different areas across the Bluegrass State. After already covering the city of Lexington, I have now turned my attention to the talented prospects in Louisville. With the offensive side of the ball already taken care of, here are some players from the city of Louisville to watch in the class of 2026 on the defensive side of the ball.