Ohio high school football: Top senior defensive lineman recruits for the 2024 season

Cleveland Heights has two of the top three senior defensive linemen in Ohio this season in West Virginia commit Brandon Caesar and Minnesota commit Jayquan Stubbs

Brandon Caesar of Cleveland Heights makes a tackle in the backfield against St. Ignatius on November 4, 2022. / Mike Cook, SBLive Sports

The 2024 Ohio high school football season is upon us, and it is time to take a look at some of highest rated recruits in the state. In this series, we will focus on the top recruits at a handful of positions for a specific graduating class.

We have introduced you to the senior quarterbacks, senior running backs, senior linebackers, senior edge rushers, senior wide receivers, senior defensive backs, senior tight ends and senior offensive linemen so far. Now we take a look at the top defensive lineman recruits in Ohio for the class of 2025.

Cleveland Heights has two of the top three senior defensive linemen in Ohio this season in West Virginia commit Brandon Caesar and Minnesota commit Jayquan Stubbs.

Each of the top five senior defensive linemen are headed to Power 5 schools, with Gordy Sulfsted of St. Xavier committed to Notre Dame, Upper Arlington's Cal Thrush committed to Michigan State and Hamilton's Trey Verdon going to Iowa State.

All rankings are based off 247Sports.com.

Top 5 senior defensive lineman recruits in Ohio:

1. Brandon Caesar, Cleveland Heights; 6-foot-4, 255 pounds (No. 14 overall in Ohio 2025 class)
Committed to West Virginia

Named first-team All-Ohio in Division I last season, the West Virginia commit is coming off an injury and is hopeful to see the field for the Tigers this season.

2. Gordy Sulfsted, St. Xavier; 6-foot-5, 240 pounds (No. 16 overall)
Committed Notre Dame

Finished with 41 tackles and 3.5 sacks last season and was named third-team All-Ohio in Division I.

3. Jayquan Stubbs, Cleveland Heights; 6-foot-6, 249 pounds (No. 21 overall)
Committed to Minnesota

The 3-star recruit is an anchor of the Tigers' defensive line and also plays basketball for Cleveland Heights in the winter.

4. Cal Thrush, Upper Arlington; 6-foot-4, 250 pounds (No. 48 overall)
Committed to Michigan State

The three-start recruit was named honorable mention All-Ohio last season and chose Michigan State over other offers such as Army, Navy, Louisville and multiple Mid-American Conference schools.

5. Trey Verdon, Hamilton; 6-foot-2, 225 pounds (No. 51 overall)
Committed to Iowa State

Had 77 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles last season in earning second-team All-Ohio honors in Division I.

Stay tuned to SBLive Ohio all season long for all of your high school football coverage. You can check out our Ohio high school football scoreboards all season long.

-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh