Vote: Who has been the best defensive player in high school football?
VOTE: Who should be the Sporting News midseason national defensive player of the year? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We're roughly halfway through the season, and the national results from Week 9 offered plenty of major fireworks.
It's the perfect time for Sporting News to take a look at the nation's top defensive players so far.
As a publication we have selected a collection of the nation's best defensive high school football players for the honor of, "Midseason National Defensive Player of the Year."
But we want to leave the final decision up to you.
Vote for Sporting News Midseason National High School Defensive Football Player of the Year
Voting ends Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
More high school football news
- How the nation's top teams fared last week
- Streak Busters Week 7 – double-digit win streaks fall across the country
- National 20-game active win streaks
- Last week's Roadmap to the National Championship
Here's a look at the nominees:
Taylor Johnson (Cajon, CA) — 147 total tackles, 9.5 tackles-for-loss, 5 sacks, 21 tackles per game
Michael Boulware (GCA, SC) — 143 total tackles, 8 tackles-for-loss, 3 sacks, 20.4 tackles per game
Dylan Depp (Penns Manor, PA) — 142 total tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks, 17.8 tackles per game
Bryce McLaughlin (Minford, OH) — 133 total tackles, 14.0 tackles-for-loss, 3 sacks, 19 tackles per game
Austin Tulau (West Jordan, UT) — 127 total tackles, 18.5 tackles-for-loss, 6.5 sacks
Daniel Wojnowski (SFA, Florida) — 126 total tackles, 9 tackles-for-loss, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions
Brayden Homoki (Midview, OH) — 123 total tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, 15.4 tackles per game
Marty Loncar (Lake Catholic, OH) — 120 total tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, 6 sacks
Wesley Bushnell (Sulphur, LA) — 117 total tackles, 19 tackles per game
Jeb Brown (Lawrence North, IN) — 116 total tackles, 24 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks, 14.5 tackles per game
Breck Mallory (Lawrence North, IN) — 115 total tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, 3 sacks, 14.4 tackles per game
Cooper Kraus (Buena, AZ) — 112 total tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks
Dylan Oller (South Plainfield, NJ) — 106 total tackles, 19.5 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks, 15.1 tackles per game
Malik Mazyun (Cahokia, IL) — 103 total tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, 8 sacks
Garrett Boling (Scottsburg, IN) — 102 total tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks
Cameron Cartlidge (Walkertown, NC) — 98 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss, 6 sacks, 16.4 tackles per game
James Hall (SBEP, OH) — 97 total tackles, 24 sacks
Kenneth McClinton (Denby, MI) — 17.5 sacks
Exzavier burns (SFA, FL) — 72 total tackles, 17 sacks
Jacquey Ferguson Jr (Northside Christian, FL) — 38 total tackles, 17 sacks
Caleb Metzner (CHCA, AL) —36 total tackles, 17 sacks
Lopeti Matai’tini Moala Jr. (Orem, UT) — 22 tackles-for-loss, 17 sacks
JaDarius Burney (Goshen, AL) — 13 interceptions
Caidyn Hoover (Vela, TX) — 9 interceptions
Prince Williams (Bishop Gorman, NV) — 53 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss, 10 sacks
Dash Fifita (Santa Margarita, CA) — 50 tackles, 5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks
Matthew Muasau (St. John Bosco, CA) — 38 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 interception
Trevoris Finley (St. Thomas Aquinas, FL) — 28 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss, 8 sacks
Richard Anderson (Edna Karr, LA) — Dominant defensive tackle at heart of elite Edna Karr defense
Blaize Battaglia (Milton, GA) — 65 tackles, 6 tackles-for-loss, 8 quarterback hurries
Jireh Edwards (St. Frances Academy, MD) — Shutdown 5-star defensive back; 20 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 defensive touchdown
Xavier Griffin (Gainesville, GA) — 40 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks
Nick Abrams II (McDonogh, MD) — 50 tackles, 6 tackles-for-loss, 3 sacks
Bradyn Rouse (Kell, GA) — 71 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 interception
D.J. Jacobs (Blessed Trinity, GA) — 42 tackles, 9 tackles-for-loss, 7 sacks
LaDamion Guyton (Savannah Christian, GA) — 52 tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss, 6.5 sacks
Category: General Sports
