Four 2030 DL Prospects to Know in Tennessee

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With each new offseason comes a new wave of talent at the high school level with the arrival of a potential-filled rising freshman group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the state keeps investing more and more into youth development, the young talent in the state of Tennessee has become exponentially better at an earlier stage as the state began to see with the impact that 2029 class immediately made last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a strong group of rising freshman defensive linemen, these four 2030 prospects will be players to know as they look to start within the next two seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2030 IDL [player_tooltip player_id='1307170' first='I-Key' last='Lewis'] — Baylor School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1307170"],"_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-6a851f2fc4308"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Key Lewis Jr. already has the physical makeup of a future high-level recruit and will be a prospect to know at The Baylor School over the next four years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has an elite frame for a young player, standing around 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds entering his freshman season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He holds natural power that comes with the frame, but does not sacrifice any ounce of natural athleticism, giving him the upside to win along the entire defensive line right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He shined in the scrimmage against Buford, winning from the interior against older players and on the edge against younger players. He is a player that has the ability to make an instant impact against a loaded schedule.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As he continues to round out his game and grow into his frame, he has the potential to develop into a high-level defensive line recruit that is disruptive and versatile.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EXPECTED ROLE IN 2026:</strong> He will rotate in at defensive tackle as a freshman before starting the final three seasons of his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2030 DL Shemar Soles — Franklin Road Academy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1307203"],"_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-6a851f2fc43d1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Shemar Soles is an exciting young defensive line prospect with a natural ability to work upfield and generate pressure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He comes from a very athletic family, with his older brother now at Arkansas following a productive season at Kentucky.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Similar to his brother, he has a strong frame that generates natural power in his punches. Additionally, he plays with a high motor which gives him opportunities to cause havoc along the defensive front.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He will receive top-tier coaching at Franklin Road Academy, where he should develop into a reliable defensive end that can win with power as he continues growing, in addition to his athleticism plus motor giving him exciting long-term upside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EXPECTED ROLE IN 2026:</strong> He could have a rotational role while developing as a freshman before stepping into a bigger role for FRA as a sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2030 IDL JC Ridley — Oakland High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1701410"],"_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-6a851f2fc4471"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">JC Ridley is an exciting young defensive tackle that has already shown strong flashes in the Oakland football pipeline.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At 230 pounds, he held a lot of raw strength at the middle school level and flashed a technical understanding of how to utilize it from the nose tackle position, effectively using swim, rip and club moves on the field and at the Prep Redzone camp.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Standing at 5-foot-9 right now, he will need to keep growing as he gets older, which will give him more room to max out his frame.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has a strong group of tools to work with in his high school career and will receive strong coaching at Oakland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EXPECTED ROLE IN 2026:</strong> He should be a two-way player in his high school career at Oakland and will have a bigger opportunity to rotate in his sophomore season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2030 DL Uriah Groomes — Lipscomb Academy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":2338957,"_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-6a851f2fc4502"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Uriah Groomes is a young defensive line prospect with a good frame, plus athleticism and intriguing versatility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At six-foot and 220 pounds, he held a strong frame during his eighth grade season that earned him some reps at the varsity level inside the top classification in the state of Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In those reps, he showed his anchor that allowed for him to belong at the high school level. He also showed solid athleticism when given the opportunity to work into the play, finishing with a couple tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has the frame, power and athleticism to make a high impact from a variety of alignments eventually and he will receive strong coaching during his high school career with Trent Dilfer and his staff back to lead Lipscomb Academy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He is an exciting prospect to watch as he gets more involved in the defensive line rotation moving forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EXPECTED ROLE IN 2026:</strong> He should be a part of the defensive line rotation as a freshman and keep developing upon his strong baseline skillset.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->