Rivals Los Angeles Combine: Top Middle School Defensive Linemen
The Rivals Combine Series kicked off its annual spring slate of events on February 26th in Los Angeles. The combine, largely geared towards high school athletes, saw a total 1,085 kids go through combine testing drills such as the 40-yard…
Access all of Prep Redzone Next and Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Rivals Combine Series kicked off its annual spring slate of events on February 26th in Los Angeles. The combine, largely geared towards high school athletes, saw a total 1,085 kids go through combine testing drills such as the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill, vertical jump, broad jump and shuttle run. The top performing athletes from the combine on Saturday, were then invited back on Sunday to compete with the upperclassmen.
Tyler Burnstein | Defensive Line | Arizona | 2026
Burnstein was a standout a few weeks back at the NextGen camp in Las Vegas, and the Arizona native did it again at the Rivals combine. Measured in at 6-foot-2 and 176 pounds and was clocked at a 4.81 in the 40-yard dash, which was tops amongst middle school defensive linemen. He’s nowhere near as strong as he’s going to get. Going to be a good edge rusher.
Tomuhini Topui | Defensive Line | California | 2026
The most physically impressive middle school defensive lineman in attendance, Topui measured in at 6-foot-2 and 308 pounds as just an eighth grader. With all that size, still finished tied for first amongst all middle school defensive linemen with a 23.4″ vertical. Looking deeper into his play, he won an AYF National Championship with the OG Ducks this past season and has clips of himself on social media deadlifting over 560 pounds. Louisville has already offered.
Grant Jordan | Defensive Line | Arizona | 2026
Like Burnstein, it was the second time getting to dissect Jordan’s game this off-season. Was more impressive this time than when we saw him in Las Vegas. Measured in at 6-foot-1 and 177 pounds. Finished with the best 3-Cone drill amongst all middle school defensive linemen with a 4.438. Also tied the above mentioned Topui for tops in the vertical with a 23.4″.
Bodie Friend | Defensive Line | California | 2026
Friend didn’t put up any crazy numbers, but his athleticism certainly shined through at the combine. Compared to the other defensive linemen, the future Mater Dei Catholic High School Crusader finished first in the Shuttle (7.629), tied for second in the broad jump (93″) and third in the 40-yard dash behind only Burnstein and Jordan. He’s the younger brother of Vincent Friend, who is a target of many top academic programs in the country such as Bucknell, Penn and Lehigh.
Julian Bailey | Defensive Line | California | 2026
In the case of Bailey, he presents the argument of which do you trust more–your eyes or measureables? His combine times and measurements were not stellar. However, on film, he looks like has all the tangibles necessary to be a big time interior defensive tackle. Measured in shorter than you’d like at just 5-foot-9, but did tip the scales at 304 pounds. It will be interesting to see how he works to improve his combine testing.
Jackson Bishop | Defensive Line | California | 2026
The future Palm Desert High School prospect showed that he is certainly a prospect to watch. The defensive end/tight end showed great explosion with a defensive line best and top-10 overall broad jump of 98″. The well put-together athlete was 5-foot-10 and 194 pounds and also finished third amongst middle school defensive linemen in the 40-yard dash, and 3-Cone drill. Also tied for second in the vertical.
Nash Goade of Menifee, California and Zach Cowell of Big Timber, Montana are both just seventh graders, but both showed some flashes. Goade was certainly the more athletic of the two, measuring in at 6-foot-1 and 150 pounds, he had an impressive 91″ broad jump. Cowell was recorded at 6-foot-1 and 154 pounds and tied Goade with a 19.3″ vertical. Two 2027’s to jot down.
An additional pair of 2026 tweener’s also caught my eye. Caleb Lauderdale made the trip west from Memphis, Tennessee at 5-foot-10 and 231 pounds. While Asofa Lauifi of Santee, California was 5-foot-10 and 246 pounds. At this point both are a little undersized at defensive tackle, but not quite quick enough to play defensive end. Time will tell how they pan out.