Defensive Prospects and Athletes Added in Final 2026 Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>***Use Code “BLACKFRIDAY2025” for 50% off your annual subscription THIS WEEK ONLY***</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will continue to break down the Prep Redzone Illinois 2026 Top 500 Final Player Rankings all week!&nbsp; Here is a look at the Defensive Prospects and Athletes who were added into the Final 2026 Rankings!&nbsp; Make sure to check out where you are at in the final update!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Defensive Line</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061010' first='Jahadi' last='White'] (East St. Louis)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061064' first='Marc' last='Tchapda'] (Glenbard West)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061140' first='Landin' last='Carter'] (Mt. Carmel)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061141' first='John' last='Spellers'] (Whitney Young)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061142' first='Desmond' last='Winfrey'] (Tolono Unity)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061149' first='Jack' last='Gilardi'] (St. Ignatius)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='1896621' first='David' last='Ward'] (Champaign Central)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061287' first='Wynn' last='Philippi'] (St. Viator)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061288' first='Wiktor' last='Rzepski'] (Lake Park)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061289' first='Michael' last='O'Connor'] (Marist)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061290' first='Kanye' last='Williams'] (Lane Tech)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061334' first='Jason' last='Halton'] (Belleville East)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='1674759' first='Kai' last='Calcutt'] (Loyola)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='1941216' first='Cameron' last='Shields'] (Barrington)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061335' first='Lamari' last='Hall'] (Thornwood)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061343' first='Cecil' last='Tosant'] (Glenbard South)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061344' first='Owen' last='Shea'] (Antioch)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061345' first='Aiden' last='Hennings'] (Lincoln Way Central)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061346' first='Curtis' last='Bladen'] (Urbana)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='1855277' first='Kenyada' last='Lane'] (Champaign Centennial)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061533' first='Camren' last='Johnson'] (Kankakee)<br>DL [player_tooltip player_id='2061538' first='Milan' last='Nikolic'] (Stevenson)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Linebackers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061293' first='Noah' last='Sanchez'] (Nazareth)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1540122' first='Troy' last='Culbertson'] (Andrew)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1956032' first='Jonas' last='Owens'] (Huntley)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061606' first='Gavin' last='Smith'] (Maine South)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061616' first='Kameron' last='Love'] (Kenwood)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061622' first='Drew' last='Phelps'] (Moline)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061650' first='Michael' last='Murphy'] (Fenwick)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061643' first='Caleb' last='Viscogliosi'] (Yorkville)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061672' first='Kourmarion' last='McNeil'] (Cahokia)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061683' first='Ryan' last='Boston'] (Rich Township)<br>LB [player_tooltip player_id='2061690' first='Jake' last='Pepsnick'] (Prospect)<br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Defensive Backs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061154' first='CJ' last='Cutler'] (Belleville West)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1358093' first='Mariano' last='Velasco'] (Oswego)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='849713' first='Dekarai' last='Weaver'] (East St. Louis)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2064680' first='Emeir' last='White'] (Mt. Carmel)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2064682' first='Charlie' last='Barkmeier'] (Mt. Carmel)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1617582' first='Dean' last='Kemph'] (Mt. Carmel)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1570789' first='Mick' last='Rapinchuk'] (Downers Grove South)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061316' first='Denzel' last='James'] (Hinsdale South)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1545314' first='Tommy' last='Westrom'] (Neuqua Valley)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1120639' first='Aiden' last='Williams'] (Fenwick)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1968736' first='Jaiden' last='Blunt'] (St. Rita)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061336' first='Anthony' last='D'Angelo'] (Prospect)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061754' first='Blake' last='Gelly'] (Highland)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061767' first='J'Mari' last='Jackson'] (Hoffman Estates)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061792' first='Jakub' last='Maka'] (Lemont<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1885363' first='Conor' last='Gibbs'] (St. Ignatius)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061808' first='Chris' last='Whetstone'] (Hampshire)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='1732089' first='Connor' last='Vrastil'] (Andrew)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061826' first='Andrew' last='Culotta'] (Batavia)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061843' first='Cash' last='Lynch'] (Pana)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061852' first='Nick' last='Ergish'] (St. Patrick)<br>DB [player_tooltip player_id='2061868' first='Rickey' last='Salmond'] (Belleville West)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Athletes</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2061299' first='Avian' last='Thomas'] (Rock Island)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1926155' first='Silas' last='Steffen'] (Morton)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1694359' first='Coen' last='Demack'] (Bishop McNamara)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1866078' first='Vernon' last='Cole'] (Lane Tech)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1866250' first='Alex' last='Soto'] (Oak Lawn)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2061590' first='David' last='Khamoo'] (Niles West)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2061593' first='Kye' last='Weinzierl'] (Geneseo)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2061595' first='Arnell' last='Wilson'] (Champaign Central)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2061599' first='Joaquin' last='Jordan'] (Homewood Flossmoor)<br>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2061601' first='Cedric' last='Terrell'] (Kankakee)<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->