Five Hudson County Defensive Prospects Who Defend the Back-End

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Recently, Union City and St. Peter's Prep have dominated the conversation around Hudson County football in their respective public and non-public affiliations. Considering these two programs to be "the old guard," a once-in-a-generation senior class and season just wrapped up at Bayonne and Hudson Catholic welcomes a new head coach, Tarig Holman, to lead them after an unprecedented run of success at St. Thomas Aquinas. Below are five defensive prospects from the back-seven who will carry weight for these teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1692621"],"_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-69d50259b9d09"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Part of the formula for Union City is, obviously, to control the game tempo and clock with a dominant Wing-T run game. The Yang to that Ying is when opponents get behind, they have to pass the ball - and the Soaring Eagles have always had a strong defensive secondary, and continue to do, with [player_tooltip player_id='1692621' first='Jadiel' last='Azuri']. As a corner, Azuri does an excellent job of playing his force run fit and is a very good tackler. Additionally, what makes Azuri so effective against the run is that he fights hard along the perimeter to get off the blocks of opposing receivers. He does an outstanding job of rallying to the flat and coming up to defend the run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1645213"],"_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-69d5077668c53"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Immediately, what you see on tape from [player_tooltip player_id='1645213' first='Juelze' last='Jackson-Holland'] is a 6'3" corner with twitchy tendencies. This twitchiness allows Jackson-Holland to get strong breaks on the ball and get down hill. His may have to do, and begin with, how smooth, fluid, and comfortable he looks backpedalling. An aggressive player, he can get handsy at times when jockeying for positioning defending routes. When the ball is up for grabs, Jackson-Holland uses his size well to defend and play the ball. You will be hard-pressed to find another corner with as much size, athleticism, and raw upside than Jackson-Holland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2138189"],"_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-69d5077668c9c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2138189' first='Ryan' last='Wooten'], the number four ranked defensive back in the class of 2027, is another tall corner who breaks on the ball extremely well, partly due to what I suspect being disciplined eyes. Moreover, you can just see quick-twitch movements whenever he moves on the field. As a tackler, he hits through opponents using the entire force of this body - which he prefers to play rather than the ball - only matching receivers' hands when necessary. Wooten uses his size more near the goal line to, literally and figuratively, play big.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2044210"],"_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-69d5077668ce3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Playing in front of Wooten is teammate and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='2044210' first='Evan' last='Pratt']. Pratt delivers excellent shoulder form tackles, getting down hill quickly and in a hurry. Upon contacting a ball carrier, he does a great job of keeping his feet moving to drive them backwards and kill any forward progress. Another thing that I noticed and liked about Pratt's game is that his eyes seem very disciplined, especially against all the deception of a Wing-T offense, as we see him flow over the top and get to his spot. Pratt is a well coached prospect ready to make a big impact this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2044377"],"_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-69d5077668d28"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Despite all the unsettling that occurred at Hudson Catholic in the last calendar year, [player_tooltip player_id='2044377' first='Mason' last='Negron'] was a positive contributor on the defensive side of the ball. A linebacker who plays with a little more depth than most, Negron does a great job of breaking down when he is closing in to tackle. This coming to balance allows very ball carriers to squirm away. With a bit of a nasty streak to him, Negron wants to absolutely smack people, hitting them hard and punishing them for trying to run at him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">New Jersey Class of 2027 Player Rankings Update</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/updated-2027-new-jersey-rankings">Official New. 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