Deep Dives: 704 Metro Area Defensive Linemen

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are continuing our Deep Dive Series, now branching out to the surrounding counties outside of Charlotte, known as the 704 Metro Area! We are looking at players specifically in Cleveland, Gaston, Union, Cabarrus, and Iredell counties. If we have a special player in another adjacent county - such as Stanly, Lincoln, or Rowan - they will be eligible for inclusion in this ranking also!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will keep it going with the defensive linemen in the 704 Metro Area, and we will follow the same setup as we did for Mecklenburg County: The top five players will get their own individual breakdown, while our remaining players will get a summarized analysis of their abilities. Let's get started!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1113123"],"_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-69d2c929d4961"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Landen is number 1 in this ranking for a couple of reasons. One is the fact that he's been on varsity since his freshman year and has been a major contributor to the success JM Robinson has had on the field. Another reason is his positional versatility - we have him listed as an EDGE for evaluation purposes, but Landen can play inside at defensive tackle with his size at 6'3 and 240 pounds. From a recruiting perspective, Landen has racked up multiple offers already, holding them from the following college football programs: East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Troy, Duke, Charlotte, and Old Dominion. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1623018"],"_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-69d2c929d4a14"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kai has been one of my favorite area interior defensive linemen for the past couple of years, and now college football programs are starting to recognize what I've seen for a while. Kai's strength and get off at the line of scrimmage as a defensive tackle is impressive, and he does a great job of playing in gaps and keeping linemen off of his linebackers. Kai has picked up his first three offers this offseason - coming from Towson, Gardner-Webb, and Campbell universities, respectively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1607814"],"_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-69d2c929d4abc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">After an All-Conference season last year, Caniyus should have much more college football recruiting attention, in my opinion. Caniyus showed his positional versatility this past season, playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage. As a defensive lineman, Caniyus does a great job of reading the play and immediately shedding blocks to make tackles on the interior of the defense. Caniyus shows some excellent quickness in pass rush situations and good closing speed to get to the quarterback. Caniyus currently has offers from East Carolina and Troy in terms of college football recruiting. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2061057"],"_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-69d2c929d4b88"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">When I got a ringing endorsement from Kayden's head coach to take a look at him, it was an easy choice to add him to our state rankings at a pretty high level. Kayden was named his team's defensive player of the year, the Rowan County defensive player of the year, and All-Conference for his performance last year. When you watch the film, Kayden plays with exceptional strength, shedding blocks with one arm at times in the running game. The transition Kayden shows between power and speed is also impressive when he's rushing the passer. Kayden picked up his first offer in January from East Carolina and has since picked up a recent offer from Old Dominion. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1788150"],"_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-69d2c929d4c2f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Infinite had a strong season this past year for the Vikings, and in multiple games, his impact was felt as a strong run stopper on the line of scrimmage for Central Cabarrus. Infinite shows his athleticism in short spaces both as a defensive lineman and as a tight end on offense. Voted as his team's defensive MVP this past season, Infinite is starting to receive more interest from college football programs. Infinite also recently received his first Division 1 offer from Hampton University, congrats to him! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Honorable Mentions</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607884' first='Paxton' last='Dobbins']</strong> - Crest<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2081108' first='Chase' last='Wakefield']</strong> - Marvin Ridge<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1671921' first='Matai' last='Grier']</strong> - Ambassador Christian<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607752' first='Jordan' last='Littlejohn']</strong> - Kings Mountain<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1078495' first='Amari' last='Broome']</strong> - Stuart Cramer <br><br>Analysis </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We recently noted Paxton's impact as a defensive lineman for the Chargers. He plays well off of blocks and is a significant presence on a defense that is trying to repeat as 5A state champions this upcoming season. Chase is a hard-working defensive lineman who plays with excellent technique. His presence will be very important for the Mavericks team, being led by a new head coach, [player_tooltip player_id='1857998' first='David' last='Johnson'], this upcoming season. [player_tooltip player_id='1671921' first='Matai' last='Grier'] has great size at 6'3 and 270 pounds and is an anchor on the defensive line for Ambassador Christian. Matai picked up his first offer last spring from Hampden-Sydney College and has interest from other schools as well. Jordan was so impressive this past season that he received the interior defensive line award from his coaches. That's impressive stuff - and Jordan shows a nice burst at the line of scrimmage and covers gaps well in the Mountaineer's scheme. [player_tooltip player_id='1078495' first='Amari' last='Broome'] was named an All-Conference player last season for the much-improved Storm. He's receiving some much-deserved college football interest from multiple programs and should have another strong year in his upcoming senior season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='415653' first='Jaiden' last='Gilbert']</strong> - Statesville<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1637458' first='Caleb' last='Dorsett']</strong> - Cox Mill<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='366529' first='Blake' last='Hopkins'] </strong>- Parkwood<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2112032' first='Brayten' last='Smith']</strong> - Hickory Ridge <br><strong>Camden Rice</strong> - Hickory Ridge</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Analysis </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gilbert from Statesville, I think, has some real potential to become a really strong player. He's got great size at 6'3 and 290 pounds and requires double teams at the line of scrimmage from offensive linemen to try and gain movement against him in the running game. [player_tooltip player_id='1637458' first='Caleb' last='Dorsett'] is an athletic player who flashes some dominance with his quickness off the football. [player_tooltip player_id='366529' first='Blake' last='Hopkins'] has been consistent throughout his career in making plays for the Wolfpack. He sheds blocks well and shows an ability to make solo tackles against ball carriers. [player_tooltip player_id='2112032' first='Brayten' last='Smith'] came on strong last season for a Hickory Ridge program returning a good number of players this upcoming season. He's a player with All-Conference potential and a real disruptor up front for the Ragin' Bulls. Brayten's teammate, Camden Rice, shows good aggression with his initial charge off the line of scrimmage. I like seeing how Camden uses his hands to shed blocks, and then he shows some good speed to chase down ballcarriers both inside and outside of the box. With 8 QB pressures and 5.5 sacks last season, Hickory Ridge could have a formidable pass rush between these two players next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->