Top Secondary Units in Class 4A and 3A for 2025

4A

5. Austin LBJ

Coach Joseph Rauls was Austin LBJ’s defensive backs coach when the secondary had current Philadelphia Eagle Andrew Mukuba, Houston’s Latrell McCutchin and former Rice star Sean Fresch. He says senior defensive back Antione Baker, an Old Dominion commit, would’ve started on that team.

Baker (6’3, 175) was a breakout star at the Texas 7-on-7 state tournament, showing why he earned First Team Padilla Poll Class 4A DI All-State honors as a junior. He finished his junior year with 84 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five sacks and four interceptions.

But Baker is far from a one-man show. Senior weakside safety Tre Riley (6’1, 185) was a First Team All-District 13-4A DI with 45 tackles, five tackles for loss and two blocked kicks. Rauls refers to him as the brains of the defense with a 4.0 GPA and several Ivy League offers.

Junior Marquis Murry II (6’0, 195) is a hybrid outside linebacker and safety, but Rauls says he could play any position on the field. Murray is part of every play that’s made on a Friday night.

Austin LBJ lost two senior cornerbacks, but Rauls doesn’t expect any drop-off with junior Josiah Covington (6’0, 175), whom he calls the most improved player from his freshman year to now. He balled out in the summer 7-on-7 circuit and improved upon his already impressive 4.6 40-yard dash speed.

Look for senior Cincere Robertson and junior Kayden Lewis to be key players in the rotation. Robertson is a 6’10” high jumper. Seniors Lewis Hickman Jr. and Javarlyn Smith are both First Team All-District wide receivers who can play defense as well.

4. Canyon West Plains

Coach Adam Cummings has the luxury of two coaches’ kids in the safety room. Senior free safety Kane White-Tinsley (5’11, 180), a UTEP commit, was a First Team All-District 2-4A DI selection with 55 tackles, nine interceptions and three pass breakups. Cummings says he has a knack for finding the football.

Senior strong safety Boston Ladd (5’10, 165) was the District’s Co-Utility Player of the Year. Cummings calls him the quarterback of the defense who gets everyone lined up correctly. He had 84 tackles and six interceptions.

Senior cornerback Kaden Hooker (5’10, 175) had 39 tackles and two pass breakups in a First Team All-District season. Cummings calls him one of the team’s best athletes who follows the opponent’s WR1 all over the field.

Senior Lawson Betancourt (5’9, 135) was the District’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year, but Canyon West Plains will use his speed on defense as well in 2025. Betancourt was clocked at 23.4 miles per hour on the GPS and wants to run collegiate track.

Expect Jason Lamons and Jenks Phillips to play big roles in the secondary as well. Phillips was the team’s leading tackler on special teams and also led the Wolves in fumble recoveries.

3. Kilgore

Kilgore has plenty of production returning in the secondary from its state championship run. It starts with senior safety Ja’Kalen Sheffield (5’10, 175), who earned First Team Padilla Poll Class 4A DI All-State honors with 131 tackles, 14 pass breakups and seven interceptions. Coach Clint Fuller calls him a ballhawk who’s equally talented in zone and man coverage. 

Senior LaKeyleon Graves (6’1, 185) is a hybrid athlete who can alternate from outside linebacker in the box to a high safety running the alleyway. He had 136 tackles, five pass breakups and three interceptions in a First Team All-District 9-4A DI season. 

At corner, senior Dre Sanders returns after a First Team All-District season. Sanders had 52 tackles, nine pass breakups, five interceptions and four tackles for loss. Fuller says he had an excellent spring and 7-on-7 circuit.

2. Carthage

Coach Scott Surratt’s ball club has been a mainstay on DCTX’s position group rankings, and the secondary is as good as any unit on the team.

Senior Jaydon Lewis (5’10, 150) was a Padilla Poll Class 4A DII First Team All-State selection at cornerback last year, and the Bulldogs may move him to safety in 2025 because he loves to hit. Surratt says the three-year starter has the best hands on the team. Lewis holds offers to Middle Tennessee and ETBU. 

Surratt says First Team All-State selection Tylin Williams (5’8, 160) pound-for-pound the hardest hitter on the team from his safety spot. That’s high praise in a program with so many Power Four athletes.

Junior Trey Gant started every down at boundary corner and was a lockdown force, while field corner Maure Sheppard brings a lot of length on the outside with his 6’3 frame. He went to the state championship in the triple jump this offseason. 

1. Frisco Panther Creek

Frisco Panther Creek has two Power Four football commits in the secondary in 2025.

Senior safety Donovan Webb (6’0,185), a Texas Tech commit, was the District 7-4A DI Co-Defensive MVP with 116 tackles and five interceptions. Defensive coordinator Ryan Wilson says Webb’s range makes up for any mistakes that arise in the defense, while his demeanor permeates through the rest of the team.

Fellow senior Jalen Lott (6’0, 185), an Oregon commit, was an All-State wide receiver who’ll start at cornerback once again. 

“His man coverage skills are some of the best I’ve ever been around,” Wilson said.

But the All-District accolades don’t stop there. Senior corner Elyon White (5’8, 165) was a First Team selection with 68 tackles, 5 PBU, 2 INT, 2 TFL. Wilson calls him an absolute dude on the field whose coverage skills are right up there with Webb and Lott. Senior safety Cayden Green (5’9, 165) was a Second Team pick in 2024 with 90 tackles, four pass breakups, three tackles for loss and an interception.

Senior safety Josiah Turner (5’10, 170) is Webb’s primary backup but is too good to keep off the field. Panther Creek will put him at nickel back. Fellow senior Josh Lunnon (6’1, 175) will see his first Varsity action and the staff is excited to watch him compete.

Keep an eye out for sophomore corner Sylas Chester, who had a great offseason that was capped off with a crucial pick-six in the Division II Texas 7-on-7 State Championship.  

3A

5. Diboll

Coach Blake Morrison has two defensive backs he’s known since seventh grade, while their older brothers starred for Diboll.

Junior cornerback Tyrece McMillan (5’11, 185) was a Third Team TSWA All-State 3A selection as a sophomore. Morrison calls him a workaholic who has studied under older brothers D’Aris McMillan, who broke the school’s career rushing yards record, and All-District utility player Jaylen McMillan.

Fellow junior Erin Robbins (6’0, 157) played well as a sophomore and has done an excellent job over the offseason with stacking muscle mass. That added strength should complement his length well. His brother was an all-state free safety. Both Robbins and McMillan also star on the basketball team. Morrison says the team will play him at cornerback and free safety. 

Senior Decarlos Sanchez was a First Team All-District 9-3A DI running back last season but will continue to play in the secondary as a nickel safety. Sanchez is a special athlete who is both strong and fast.

Morrison is excited about the healthy return of senior Adan Chavis, who played as a sophomore before tearing his ACL. Aidan Morris should also play extensive minutes.

4. Edna

New coach Jamie Dixon has a loaded secondary to work with in 2025.

Senior FS/QB Trevor Floyd (6’1, 195) has seven non-FBS offers. Dixon says he’s the quarterback of the defense, in addition to his actual quarterbacking duties, which involves getting the team lined up before the snap. He was a Preseason Class 3A All-State selection in Dave Campbell’s summer magazine.

Fellow senior Keith Wilkins (5’10, 150) was a First Team All-District 15-3A DI pick as a wide receiver, but he’ll play the safety spot besides Floyd as well. Dixon says Wilkins has great football speed and ball awareness. 

At corner, senior Keegan Hicks (5’9, 155) is one of fastest players on Edna’s team, with a 4.5 40-yard dash and a 47-second 400m dash. He brings that speed to the gridiron every Friday night. Incoming freshman Jayron Barnes might give Hicks a literal run for his throne as fastest man on the team.

Barnes won’t be the first freshman to see action. Last year, Jayfus “Baby J” Smith was a Second Team All-District 15-3A DI pick as a ninth grader. Smith is excellent in man coverage and not afraid to go on an island.

3. Lexington

Coach Kirk Muhl’s squad can spin it around the yard with Oklahoma State quarterback commit Kase Evans, but don’t expect the Eagles to allow teams to do it to them.

Senior strong safety Lincoln Bryan (5’8, 155) is the group’s headliner after a First Team All-District 13-3A DII showing with 63 tackles, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions. He also led Lexington with seven sacks as a dynamic blitzer.

Junior free safety Colten Smith (5’10, 198) had 74 tackles, six pass breakups, four interceptions and four tackles for loss in a Second Team All-District season. He uses his 355-pound bench press to lay the hammer down from the secondary. His younger brother, sophomore Chris Smith (5’11, 180), has great ball skills at defensive back, as well.

Lexington is in good hands at cornerback with two Second Team All-District performers back in senior Tripp Kellenberger (6’1, 180) and Brock Herring (6’3, 175). Kellenberger is a future college football player with 40 tackles, eight pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Herring, meanwhile, is a power forward playing cornerback. It’s difficult for opposing quarterbacks to fit the ball around his length, evidenced by his 35 tackles, nine pass breakups, two interceptions and forced fumble.

Look for sophomores Kaden Washington and Jerrion Moore to be key players on both sides of the ball.

2. Grand Saline

Coach Joe Drennon says the secondary will be the strong point of Grand Saline’s defense in 2025.

It starts with senior QB/S Jett Taylor (6’1, 195), who was a Second Team Padilla Poll Class 3A DII All-State selection with 40 tackles, seven interceptions and two pick-sixes. He’s returned four picks for a touchdown, including two over 90 yards, in a season-and-a-half of action.Taylor holds eight Division I offers, including UTEP and Sam Houston. Drennon says he’s a smart player who plays physical when running the alley.

Speaking of Division I prospects, junior corner Kolton Prox (6’3, 175) holds five offers, including Mississippi State and Florida Atlantic. The three-year starter is coming off a First Team All-District 9-3A DII season with 52 tackles and five interceptions. Drennon says the only reason he didn’t have more picks was because few teams tested him.

Fellow corner Preston Hass (6’1, 175) was a Second Team All-District pick as a sophomore, even though he didn’t technically start. Expect a big season at slot cornerback.

1. Peaster

Coach Trevor Owens moved Mark Tullous (6’1, 180) from weakside linebacker to safety at the beginning of last season, and the move paid dividends for Peaster’s program. Tullous was the District 4-3A DI Defensive MVP with 104 tackles, six tackles for loss, three interceptions and two sacks. He hits like a linebacker and runs like a secondary player, alternating from a Cover Two safety to a box defender.

Speaking of positional versatility, there’s not a spot that senior Cade McCullough (5’9, 150) can’t play. He is Peaster’s wide receiver, cornerback, kicker, punter and return specialist, earning Parker County Utility Player of the Year. McCullough finished with 23 tackles, four interceptions and two pass breakups despite teams opting to throw away from him.

Senior Safety Rhett Kelley (6’2, 170) was an Honorable Mention TSWA All-State Class 3A selection with 63 tackles and six interceptions. A back-to-back First Team All-District selection, Owens calls Kelley the team’s vocal leader. His class rank in the top 1 percent of Peaster High School allows him to call all the coverages.

Senior Grady Guerra is the favorite to take over the other cornerback spot. He was part of Peaster’s 4x200m regional final squad with an individual time under 23 seconds.