Southern Nevada’s top defensive player countdown — No. 2
Arbor View defensive lineman Greg Rogers comes in at No. 2 on our #NVprepsfb list of Southern Nevada’s top defensive players.
To create the list, we spoke with coaches from the Sunrise and Sunset Regions in both 4A and 3A. A couple of the base questions were: “Who is the top high school defensive player today?” and “Who would you pick to start a team?”
Then we grabbed the statistics from last season, looked at the player’s collective rankings on recruiting websites and used our own judgment to fill holes.
This resulted in the #NVprepsfb defensive player rank. The list is based off high school productivity and not college or professional potential.
#NVprepsfb Defensive Player Rank: Arbor View’s Greg Rogers No. 2
Class
2017
Vitals
6 feet, 4 inches; 311 pounds
Honors
Under Armour All-America game invitee (2016); first-team all-state (2015); first-team All-Northwest League (2015, 2014)
Recruiting
Rogers, who is a consensus four-star prospect, is the top recruit in the state, according to ESPN.com. He has scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Brigham Young, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, San Diego State, Southern California, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, UNLV, UNR, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Washington State. He is rated the fifth overall defensive lineman in the country on ESPN.com, and is No. 52 in the ESPN 300 in the class of 2017.
Last Year’s Stats
Rogers had 64 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and six sacks at Centennial, which lost to Bishop Gorman in the Sunset Region semifinals.
What they are saying?
“He’s like a frickin’ grizzly bear,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s got like 20-30 (scholarship) offers for a reason. He’s a man child.”
“Great kid, good football player,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s big, strong and physical. He’s a really classy kid and that really goes a long way. That tells me he’s coachable. He’s got a lot of experience, too. He’s a four-year varsity player. That s pretty impressive.”
“Mixed feelings with Greg Rogers,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s a big, strong kid and can be very dominating when he wants to be. He’s a vertical rusher. He’s not great laterally. We don’t do things straight at him because he always gets a push.”
“Rogers is a bigger, stronger guy (than Bishop Gorman’s Haskell Garrett),” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He doesn’t really have a lot of moves, but he uses that bull rush. He also fatigues earlier and has injury issues.”
“At times, he can do anything,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “But, at times, he also disappears. He has the ability. We tried to cut him and he hopped over our line and got to our quarterback. It was remarkable. He’s chasing dudes down the alley, chasing them down the field. When he’s interested in the game, he’s as dominant as they come.”
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#NVprepsfb Defensive Player Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Bubba Bolden No. 3
Class
2017
Vitals
6 feet, 3 inches; 175 pounds
Honors
First-team all-state (2015); first-team all-Southwest League (2015); second-team all-Southwest League (2014)
Recruiting
Bolden, who decommitted from Southern California on July 14, is a consensus four-star prospect. He has scholarship offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Florida, Hawaii, Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, UNLV, Utah and Washington State. He is ranked No. 208 in the ESPN 300 in the class of 2017.
Last Year’s Stats
Bolden had 55 tackles and three interceptions for the Gaels, who went undefeated and won their seventh consecutive state title.
What they are saying?
— “He’s a baller. Tough kid,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “I’ve seen him play a couple of years now and that kid will hit you. And he’s a ball hawk.”
— “Bolden has great size,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “Good football player. He’s a back safety and isn’t in the box as much.”
— “He’s aggressive and has the speed to cover,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “That, to me, takes precedent over a guy who can just play corner. You can put him all over the field.”
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#NVprepsfb Defensive Player Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Palaie Gaoteote No. 4
Class
2018
Vitals
6 feet, 2 inches; 210 pounds
Honors
Second-team all-state (2015); second-team all-Southwest League (2015)
Recruiting
Gaoteote, who is a consensus four-star prospect, has scholarship offers from Auburn, Boise State, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Southern California, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Washington State and Wisconsin. He is considered the country’s top linebacker in the class of 2018, and is the No. 11 overall prospect, according to Scout.com.
Last Year’s Stats
Gaoteote had 92 tackles, three sacks and an interception for the Gaels, who went undefeated and won their seventh consecutive state title.
What they are saying?
— “That kid’s a stud. He’s freakishly athletically,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “Tough, quick and he’s on every tackle. Every single one. He can play. He’s not going to have any trouble getting (scholarship) offers. Just a flat-out football player.”
— “He’s going to be a good one,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “In the 2018 (recruiting class), he’ll probably be the best defensive player.”
— “He was phenomenal last year,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “Next year, he’s going to be one of the best linebackers in the country.”
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#NVprepsfb Defensive Player Rank: Desert Pines’ Tony Fields No. 5
Class
2017
Vitals
6 feet, 2 inches; 200 pounds
Honors
Second-team all-state (2015); second-team Division I-A all-state (2015); first-team all-Southern Region (2015); first-team all-Sunrise Region (2015)
Recruiting
Fields, who is a consensus three-star prospect, committed to Arizona on May 7. He also has scholarship offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado State, Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Northwestern, Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, UNR and Washington State.
Last Year’s Stats
Fields had 93 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions. He also scored two touchdowns for the Jaguars, who fell to Moapa Valley in the Division I-A state quarterfinals.
What they are saying?
— “He’s one of those devastating linebackers in the middle that you want to run away from,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “Just his attitude, his leadership. Some people play the sport because they love it and have a passion. That’s the type of player he is. He’s a role model out there. When he steps up, everybody else thinks they need to step up.”
— “It’s probably Tony (that is Desert Pines’ top player) on the defensive side,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s got the intangibles. He also has the agility and ability to get to the football.”
— “Tony is the modern day football player,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s a tweener — a safety and a linebacker. Kind of like (former Pittsburgh Steelers safety) Troy Polamalu. He can be in the box and make tackles and he can play over the top.”
If you want to get involved in the discussion, #NVprepsfb is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @nevadapreps.
