FGA Report: Talking Top 2023 Defensive Tackle Recruits

The states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama are loaded with top 2023 defensive tackle prospects.

Brian Smith | Dec 19, 2021

In this story:

The next cycle of high school football recruiting will be loaded with top defensive tackle prospects from down South. Three of those states – Florida, Georgia and Alabama – make up the three states that The FGA Report is based upon.

Talking prep football in three of the nation’s most productive high school football hotbeds. What programs are winning and why, the top recruits, the stories behind the coaches, and the fans that cheer the players and coaches on will all be a part of The FGA Report.

Today's inaugural edition focuses on three recruits and how they are big-time players because of not only natural gifts, but also because of their ability to learn the game of football with technique.

All five of these defensive tackle prospects have been seen live by The FGA Report. Additionally, all of these young men have tremendously high ceilings and have Power Five offers.

Stantavious Smith, 6’1”, 265-pounds, Albany (Ga.) Dougherty

Peter Woods, 6’4”, 285-pounds, Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson

John Walker, 6’4”, 295-pounds, Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola

Vic Burley, 6’4”, 280-pounds, Warner Robins (Ga.) High School

Jordan Hall, 6’4”, 300-pounds, Jacksonville (Fla.) Westside

Smith would be the least known, but he’s most definitely a player that can create havoc. From this group, he’s also the one that could add the most additional size. His best days are ahead of him.

From this list, Woods has the most acclaim because he just helped his team win the Alabama 7A State Championship. He’s a physically imposing player and one that can still rush the passer despite his incredible size. Here are three consecutive plays from Woods where he dominated.

Walker is one of those ready-made defensive tackles that was 300-pounds even when he was a freshman in high school. A National recruit that can absolutely rush the passer from the interior, making him a coveted prospect. He's on the same line as top-notch 2023 defensive end recruit Derrick LeBlanc, so it's quite the combination to stop. Here's a video reel of Walker and LeBlanc:

Burley is a player that possesses the quickness to run down shifty running backs and quarterbacks, yet the bear paws for hands he has can help him two gap or one gap and be fine either way.

Lastly, Hall is unique because of his first step. He blasts through the line quickly. Few players his size are as explosive as Hall. With his natural length and power to go along with his quickness, he's really hard to handle one-on-one.

🙏 https://t.co/rw7AHnW8gA
— Jordan “BigBaby” Hall (@bigjay77) December 2, 2021

All five of these young men play hard and get after it despite often being the most talented players on the gridiron. That effort helped them make the list for the inaugural edition of The FGA Report.

As we move closer to camp and combine season, expect to see the aforementioned five names quite a few times, as well as other big-time defensive linemen playing on the edge like Keon Keeley, 6’6”, 230-pounds, Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep, Lebbeus Overton, defensive end, 6’5”, 260-pounds, Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton, and Kelby Collins, 6’5”, 250-pounds,Gardendale (Ala.) High School among many others.

To summarize, the states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are loaded with defensive tackle talent in the class of 2023. There’s going to be a lot of college programs headed to those three states to recruit these men because they change the outcomes of games.

To learn more details about these young men, check out the YouTube podcast of The FGA Report. Make sure to bookmark and like the YouTube page, as well as follow The FGA Report on Facebook.

For UCF coverage and recruiting information go to: The Daily Knight podcast. For more college football, UCF and recruiting information, go to Twitter: @fbscout_florida and @UCF_FanNation, as well as my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram pages. Like and Subscribe!