Scouting the 1A All-State Defense

Monday, we released our preseason All-State team for the 1A classification. If you missed the list, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/02/preseason-all-state-team-1a/">check it out here</a>. Later on Tuesday, we’ll release our 2A team, but along with each release we wanted to provide a bit of a peak behind the curtain so to speak on how we picked each player. A few notes: First, we only selected players scheduled to play this spring, which filtered out early enrollees. We also included more than 11 players to account for players in non-traditional positions (Such as the "Hybrid" position that allows for the recently popular rover/linebacker-safety combo players). There are 13 players on our defense: four linemen, three linebackers, four defensive backs, a hybrid and our punter, with our kicker and athlete being featured in the offensive scouting report. <strong>DL- [player_tooltip player_id="45005" first="DJ" last="Watkins"], Albemarle- </strong>Watkins led all freshman in North Carolina with 7.5 sacks. He has a relentless motor and good bend off the edge. He also plays the run well. <strong>DL- Tyrese McCleese, Holmes- </strong>McCleese plays all over a talented Holmes defensive line, from a standup edge rusher to the occasional rep at the 3-technique or even as a nose tackle. He’s a great run defender but still put up 10 sacks as a sophomore. <strong>DL- Sam Eberdt, Mt. Airy- </strong>Eberdt is a lengthy defensive end with potential at tackle as well. He uses his hands well, and is strong, especially for his size. A talented pass rusher, Eberdt had eight sacks last season. <strong>DL- Levi Andrews, Avery County- </strong>Andrews is one of the best all-around defensive linemen in the class, finishing third a season ago in tackles with 120. He’s an agile pass rusher and strong enough to play the run well. <strong>LB- [player_tooltip player_id="45006" first="Angus" last="Weaver"], Polk County- </strong>We’ve mentioned Weaver before as one of the best 2-way players in the state. At linebacker, he finished second among freshmen with 108 tackles while also leading Polk County in rushing. <strong>LB- Javontae Scott, Northampton- </strong>Scott finished the 2019 season with 145 tackles, more than any other 1A underclassman. He’s an athletic linebacker that can get sideline to sideline but also displays a great ability to move downhill and deliver a lot of pop. <strong>LB- Teddy Wilson, Holmes- </strong>Wilson has a great combination of size and speed that he’s able to use on both sides of the ball. With Holmes losing two other talented linebackers, Wilson’s already impressive production should improve. <strong>Hybrid- Luke Bullington, East Surry- </strong>Listed as a linebacker, Bullington played the majority of his snaps either in the slot, at safety, inside the box or outside the box. Obviously, Bullington is versatile, but he’s productive as well, racking up 60 tackles and four interceptions a season ago. <strong>DB- Zay Davis, North Rowan- </strong>Like a lot of the guys on this list, Davis has some positional flexibility with the ability to play in the box or as a deep safety. He racked up six interceptions a year ago, all of them coming towards the end of the year. <strong>DB- Malachi Gary, Thomas Jefferson Academy- </strong>We considered Gary for the athlete slot, as he’s productive on offense, defense, and on special teams. He picked off six passes and picked up 53 tackles from his safety position. <strong>DB- Fred Drew, Holmes- </strong>Drew was one of the best players on a dominant Holmes defense, excelling in both man and zone coverage. He has potential to be one of the best safeties in the state. <strong>DB- Ke’nazius Black, Tarboro- </strong>Black had four interceptions a season ago, but I’m most impressed by his ability to tackle in the open field. He didn’t put up gaudy numbers a year ago, but he has the talent to be one of the best defensive backs in the class. <strong>P- [player_tooltip player_id="28617" first="Todd" last="Pledger"], Mountain Island Charter-</strong> Pledger is a big punter with a huge leg who is signed to play at North Carolina. As a kickoff specialist, he had a touchback percentage over 66 percent and was one of the best punters in the state last season.