Defensive Stock Risers Through Three Weeks

Let's take a look at the players across the state of Iowa on the offensive side of the ball that have taken their game to a new level in the first three weeks of the 2025 season.    A productive, but relatively unknown DL from Ogden and Class 1A in 2024, Landon Alexander finished his sophomore campaign with 39 tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs).   He's quintupled those numbers in 2025, with 12.5 TFLs to this point in the season -- just three games into the year. A stout DL that stands at just 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, Alexander leads the entire state in TFLs and is three TFLs ahead of No. 2 in Class 1A, his teammate for Ogden, Carson Mueggenberg. Third place in 1A? Another Ogden Bulldog -- [player_tooltip player_id='1241534' first='Cayden' last='Dudley'].   With such a formidable defense, the Bulldogs may be one of the top teams in Class 1A this fall.     Freshly committed to Iowa as a PWO defensive lineman in the class of 2026, [player_tooltip player_id='1361747' first='David' last='Fason'] has had quite the last few weeks for the Prairie Hawks. In addition to make his pledge to the Hawkeyes, Fason has already registered 21.5 tackles, 11.5 TFLs (tied second in the state), six sacks (tied for fourth in the state) and has forced five fumbles (state leader).   A unique, physical athlete that plays with violence and a high motor, Fason has gone incredibly under-recruited as one of the top playmakers in the state's biggest class.     A turnover machine so far this season, [player_tooltip player_id='1657093' first='Drew' last='Greve'] has already snagged five interceptions in three games for Iowa City Regina, while, in all of 2024, he grabbed four picks.   Clearly possessing a nose for the ball and the ability to read opposing QBs' eyes, Greve has shown ball skills and a knack for making key plays on the defensive side of the ball for the Regals. Part of one of the more competitive classes in all of Iowa with three reigning state champs (Tri-Center [Class A], Grundy Center [Class 1A], and West Lyon [Class 2A]), Greve will be a vital piece in Regina's efforts to dethrone one of the other title contenders in 1A this fall.     With a sophomore surge to start the season, [player_tooltip player_id='1849099' first='Isaiah' last='Lange'] has burst onto the scene and is tied for the state lead in sacks through three games with 7.5.   Posting just ten tackles as a freshman last season, the flashes of high-level play were there for he and Mount Pleasant. Of those ten tackles, five came in the form of TFLs, while 2.5 were sacks.   In addition to his 7.5 sacks to start the 2025 season, Lange has already surpassed his other 2024 numbers with 15.5 tackles and 10.5 TFLs. At 6-foot-3 and 215-pounds, Lange is a physical specimen and is just too big, strong and athletic for opposing OL to handle.     The state leader in tackles so far this season with 47.5, [player_tooltip player_id='1532913' first='Nick' last='Milburn'] has only continued to ascend after posting over 100 tackles during his sophomore campaign for Newton.   A Jay Higgins or Jack Campbell type tackler for the Cardinals, all Milburn does is play physical, plug holes in the opposing defensive line and stop ball-carriers in their tracks, racking up tackle after tackle after tackle.   Milburn may not rank among the Power 4 prospects of [player_tooltip player_id='1609271' first='Gavin' last='Stecker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='466364' first='Tate' last='Wallace'], but he's out-producing them so far this season, and he appears on track to keep doing so. With six more games to go in the regular season and the playoffs to follow, the state of Iowa may have a defender exceed 150 tackles in one fall. He's on pace to nearly reach that number before the end of the regular season.

Let's take a look at the players across the state of Iowa on the offensive side of the ball that have taken their game to a new level in the first three weeks of the 2025 season.