Five High-Upside KLAA Defenders

Throughout the rest of December, I'll be focusing on finding brand-new players in the KLAA. Today, we're looking at five great defenders, with 30+ more prospects coming in the next few weeks.    James is a player that I'm already quite familiar with. He's a hybrid off-ball linebacker and D-Lineman who can play pretty much any position on the front 7.   The tape is a little bit on the shorter side, but the highlights here are quality. Playing off-ball, James is quick to work downhill to stop the inside run. Sometimes, his eyes are undisciplined, and it causes him to react a tad slowly. Though when James reads a play quickly, he's quite fast, and hits hard. As long as James' height and weight are accurate, I feel there's a high likelihood that he earns college attention this coming spring.      Kalen is another Belleville player that I'm quite familiar with. This season, he primarily played left tackle.   The junior season highlights paint a good picture of Kalen's current abilities. Run blocking, Kalen does his best work when either blocking down or lead blocking in open space. For instance, I love his agility and his hit at 1:09. Really nice job sprinting to the flat and laying a hit on the DB. When it comes to pass blocking, Kalen does a decent job anchoring down, though he can absolutely work on his feet, and getting his hands in better position.      This season, Chance served as a reliable run-stopping DE.   Seriously, Chance is incredibly difficult to move. Several highlights show Chance anchoring down within his gap, either slowing down the play so much that Franklin's D gets home, or the RB runs adjacent to Chance, and he cleans it up himself.   Additionally, Chance has a handful of highlights from the offensive side of the ball. He's a good run blocker and plays with quite a bit of power.      Salvas is a name I heard a few times over the season. Looking at his tape, it's obvious why his name gained some traction.   Tristen excels in getting off the ball extremely quickly and blowing up plays before they have a chance to develop. Watch the play at 1:24- Tristen drips right into the C gap, dodges the fullback, and earns an easy-looking TFL. Agility is the #1 standout feature with Tristen. Sometimes, Tristen struggles to get off the initial block, but once he breaks free, he's able to explode toward the ballcarrier, going sideline-to-sideline if he has to. Consiering Tristen's size, he could be a college prospect this Spring.      Tyler is a solid off-ball linebacker who has upside at the next level. He's listed at 6'2" 210, which points toward higher upside than most.   Plays like 1:10 paint a good picture of Tyler's skillset. He has solid eyes, and he's capable of reading the opposing backfield while moving toward the ball carrier. Though Tyler tends to hold back a little bit in when tackling. I'd like to see Tyler work downhill a little better, even if that means being a little over-aggressive with his angles. Still, I don't dislike his athletic profile, and his size is quite promising. Perform well at offseason camps, and Tyler could quickly rise toward being a college prospect.

Throughout the rest of December, I'll be focusing on finding brand-new players in the KLAA. Today, we're looking at five great defenders, with 30+ more prospects coming in the next few weeks.