2024 Rankings Risers: Defense

<em>An inside look into some of the 2024 defensive prospects rising up the Prep Redzone Rankings.</em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158333" first="David" last="Lene"], LB, Eastside Catholic</strong> As a freshman, Lene has good size and a strong foundational skillset to build on as he develops. He’s an athletic 6’0” 215 lbs. with good natural strength and power at the POA. Plus mobility, he has good lateral movement and can run showing good closing speed on the ball carrier. He’s an instinctual LB with good anticipation, he’s patient with his reads but possesses a quick trigger to react to run/pass. Shows a good ability to avoid blocks by scraping down the line laterally with his shoulders square to attack the ball carrier. He’s a strong tackler that plays with good leverage and can deliver a blow at the contact point. He’ll be one to watch over the next several seasons. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158341" first="Jabez" last="Tuaoa"], DL, Kentwood</strong> Tuaoa is a versatile prospect that can be effective lining up all over the field. For his size, 6’1” 250 lbs., he’s very athletic and flashes good feet, burst, and initial quickness. He’s a run stopper that fires off the ball with a quick first step and gains positional leverage to fill a gap. Great in pursuit, he’s smart with his attack angles and does a great job breaking down and being a reliable tackler in space. He’s powerful at the POA driving his legs through contact. He also shows good hand strength to disengage and maintain separation while keeping blockers away from his body. It will be interesting to see how he develops as he gets older due to his ability to play multiple positions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158342" first="Gio" last="Kafentzis"], DB, Emerald Ridge</strong> Kafentzis was voted 4A Honorable Mention as a DB after an impressive freshman season. He showed great play making ability in both run support and in coverage. Not the biggest athlete but he’s smooth and savvy with his movement and demonstrates a high football IQ to put himself in position to be a difference maker. Possesses a good combination of athleticism and strong technique/fundamentals. He’s very efficient with his footwork and shows good eye discipline to diagnose plays quickly and accurately. He’s not afraid of contact playing a very physical and always attacking style of defensive football. Really like his natural ability and feel for the game, he has the tools and potential to be a very strong prospect as he matures. <strong><img class=" wp-image-136303 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/04/PRZ-Generic-Gray.jpg" alt="" width="288" height="180" />[player_tooltip player_id="158344" first="AJ" last="Tanupo"], DL, Eastside Catholic</strong> As a freshman, he already possesses ideal size at 6’3” 260 lbs. He has the ability to be a three down defensive lineman that can effectively stop the run or rush the passer. He’s a plus athlete that flashes good mobility and bend on both sides of the ball. Shows good body control to disengage/avoid blockers with lateral movement or a quick spin move. Also has the upper and lower body strength to overpower opponents or neutralize and stack at the point. Playing in one of the top programs in the state and with plenty of time to develop he checks a lot of boxes as a future D1 prospect on either side of the line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="158368" first="Hudson" last="Sheridan"], DB, Life Christian</strong> Sheridan is a good free safety prospect that was voted First Team All-League as freshman. He’s a smooth athlete that shows good transitional speed and leg drive out of his back pedal. He’s smart and rangy with the ability to cover a lot of ground quickly by reading the field and anticipating. Good ability to track/adjust to ball flight with good timing and ball skills. Shows he can come downhill on run support and be a reliable open field tackler wrapping up to the ground. Plays well with his eyes to make quick decisive reads. He's another strong young prospect in the Life Christian program.