The new year is upon us and that can only mean one thing–it’s camp season! BCP welcomes you to this phase of the football calendar and to the 2016 edition of the Ignite Showcase at Larry Sanders Park on Sunday. We start our two-day preview of the event with a quick look at the defensive positions and the prospects that are signed up to put in work this weekend. There’s athletes everywhere you look, and quite frankly–we can’t wait to see some of these ’17 and ’18’s that comprise one of the deepest two-year classes the Bay Area may get to witness in a looooong time. Here now is a quick overview of the defensive side of things for the camp. They’re are a total of 103 players from freshman to junior on the defensive side of the ball that are registered for the event. 

Defensive Ends:
We start with the big fellas coming off the edge–and we’ve got some good ones to talk about. The representation from the Class of 2017 is strong with Alonso’s Obie Cruz (39 tackles–24 solo), Bloomingdale’s Sam Skinner (72 tackles–7.5 sacks) and Clearwater’s Tramar Reece (31 tackles–4.5 sacks–21 hurries) to name a few plus Hillsborough’s Zachary Carter–who is on a mission to be one of the highest rated recruits in the country. Mitchell’s got a pair of prospects (Danny Schwindt and Michael Doyle) that you’ll want to keep an eye on along with Countryside’s Andrew Brown. From the 2018’s, you’ll want to watch Victory Christian’s Taquon Brown (56 tackles–12 tfl’s) and Jesuit’s Anthony Nelson. From the nursery–aka the the freshmen class–keep your peepers peeled for Lake Gibson’s Jaharie Martin (6-1/193).

Defensive Tackles:
There’s only six guys signed up to play from this spot, but they’ll be worth the attention for sure. The four seniors are Wharton’s Justin Visconti, Chamberlain’s Ramon Franco, Land O’Lakes’ Erick Marcel and Fort Meade’s Bryce Nelson. The lone sophomore in the group is Berkeley Prep’s Mayan Ahanotu and the lone freshman is Steinbrenner’s Tyus Gibson. The underclassmen in this group could step the show and in a heartbeat with Ahanotu and Gibson looking like bonafide prospects at their position. Ahanotu (6-3/215) was credited with 29 tackles this season–12 of those for loss–along with 5.5 sacks for the Bucs while Gibson posted 16 tackles and a sack for the record-setting Warriors this year.

Linebackers:
The absolute cream of the crop of the position groups on defense–and perhaps the entire camp. The seniors-to-be in this group alone compiled over 1,000 tackles if you need them and the underclassmen behind them in the sophomore and freshman group look to take over that kind of production once they hit this stage next season and beyond. This group is headlined by Gaither’s Decalon Brooks (114 tackles) and Hillsborough’s Armand Chalk (93 tackles) plus the reliables like Bloomingdale’s Colin Errity (108 tackles) and Lake Gibson’s AJ Deshazor Jr. (52 tackles). From the 18’s–there’s Jesuit’s Braden Gilby and his 128 tackles from the season that will be in the mix along with guys from Sickles, Wesley Chapel and Newsome that were tackling machines for their squads this season. 

Safeties:
This group could turn this into a no-fly zone–if they can get locked-in to the zone that is. The 2017’s are headlined by Cambridge Christian’s Aaron Pierre and the 18’s have no less than three guys that could make an impact on Sunday. Keep your eyes peeled for Mitchell’s Adam Rogers, Countryside’s Peyton Xayasone and Wiregrass Ranch’s Shamaur McDowell.

Cornerbacks:
Tons of ’17 talent in the island led by East Bay’s Bobby Brown III, along with solid prospects in the form of Countryside’s Jervontae Morris and Pinellas Park’s Zamari Maxwell. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that you should stay tuned to watch the battles that the tandem from Tampa Catholic (Bentlee Sanders and Darius Corbett) will present to wide receivers along with Weeki Wachee’s Montae Bostick. There’s Jordan Miner from the ’18’s from out at Wiregrass Ranch that looks to give fits to pass catchers and there’s also six prospects from the ’19 class that will want to introduce themselves to the world on Sunday.