Eastern KY 26s to Watch: DB

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head deeper into the month of June, the 2025 high school football season is quickly approaching. With that in mind, I wanted to take some time to highlight some incoming seniors in specific areas of the state of Kentucky. To continue these series, I have been taking the past week to highlight some incoming seniors at each position in Eastern Kentucky. After already covering the offensive side of the ball, I have now turned my attention to the defensive side of the ball. With the defensive line and linebackers already taken care of, here are some notable defensive backs to watch in the class of 2026 in Eastern Kentucky.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1517158"],"_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-685c777a37435"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1517158' first='Devan' last='Maynard'] is coming off a very impressive junior season. He lines up at safety where he is a true ballhawk in the secondary. Maynard does a great job of reading the quarterback then flowing through the secondary to make a play on the ball. When the ball is thrown in his direction, he has shown impressive ball skills, coming away with a team-high eight interceptions in 13 games as a junior, returning two of them for touchdowns. He has also shown the ability to fill the lane to make tackles against the run, finishing this past season with 79 tackles and five tackles for loss. Devan also served as his team's starting quarterback last season, throwing for 854 yards and 12 touchdowns while also leading his team in rushing with 158 carries for 1,189 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns as a junior. Maynard currently holds offers from Kentucky Wesleyan, Kentucky Christian, Pikeville, and Midway, and I expect more to come his way this offseason. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1516130"],"_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-685c777a3749b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1516130' first='Blake' last='Burnett'] is another safety who stood out to me as a junior. He does a great job of sitting back in coverage and reading route combinations then breaking on the ball with perfect timing once it is in the air. Burnett has shown the ability to cover a ton of ground to get to the ball and then attack it at its highest point to make a play, coming away with a team-high six interceptions in 13 games last season. He also finished this past season with 44 tackles and two tackles for loss. Blake also had a strong year at quarterback, throwing for 1,204 yards and 11 touchdowns while also rushing for 517 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. Burnett doesn't currently hold any offers but he is a player who college coaches should have their eyes on this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["212333"],"_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-685c7864a5924"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='212333' first='Cayden' last='Varney'] has been on my radar for a while now and continued to impress this past season. He lines up on the outside at corner where he has proven to be productive in both man and zone coverage. When the ball is thrown his way, Varney has shown the ability to react with perfect timing to make a play, coming away with a team-leading three interceptions in 14 games this past season. He also showed the ability to provide run support, finishing the year with 70 tackles. Varney also made an impact on offense as a junior, catching 18 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns. Cayden currently holds an offer from Pikeville and I expect more to come his way going into his senior year. </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":"[player_tooltip player_id='1706071' first='Waylon' last='Hensley']","_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":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"180","_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":"South Laurel","_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-685c7bf2cba4b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">My final notable 2026 defensive back to watch in Eastern Kentucky this season is [player_tooltip player_id='1706071' first='Waylon' last='Hensley']. Hensley lines up at corner where he is very impressive in coverage. He does a great job of reading route combinations and flowing in his zone to put himself in a good position to make a play. When the ball is thrown his way, he breaks with perfect timing to make a play on the ball, coming away with a team-leading four interceptions in 10 games as a junior. He also finished the year with 29 tackles and one tackle for loss, and made an impact on offense, catching 11 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Waylon should definitely be a player for college coaches to pay close attention to during his senior year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->