Pennsylvania high school football: Top senior defensive back recruits for the 2024 season

Xxavier Thomas of Pittsburgh Central Catholic and John Wetzel of Greater Latrobe lead the senior class of defensive backs in Pennsylvania high school football for 2024.

Central York cornerback Saxton Suchanic gets ready for a play during a non-conference football game against Cumberland Valley at Chapman Field August 26, 2023, in Mechanicsburg. The Panthers won, 14-0. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2024 Pennsylvania 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 and senior edge rushers and senior wide receivers so far. Now we take a look at the top defensive back recruits in the Keystone state for the class of 2025.

While the top defensive back in the senior class might not be ranked higher than No. 20 overall in Pennsylvania, the top five defensive backs all come in the next 11 spots.

Penn State commit Xxavier Thomas of Pittsburgh Central Catholic leads the way at No. 20, while John Wetzel of Greater Latrobe (a Marshall commit) is No. 25, Syracuse commit Ziyyon Bredell of Abraham Lincoln is No. 27, Duke commit William Felder, Jr. of Roman Catholic is No. 28 and Saxton Suchanic of Central York (committed to Connecticut) is No. 30.

All rankings are based off 247Sports.com.

Top 5 senior defensive back recruits in Pennsylvania:

1. Xxavier Thomas, Pittsburgh Central Catholic; 5-10, 165 pounds (No. 20 overall in Pennsylvania 2025 class)
Committed to Penn State

Had 22 tackles and four interceptions as a junior and also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

2. John Wetzel, Latrobe; 6-foot-1, 200 pounds (No. 25 overall)
Committed to Marshall

Plays both sides of the ball for Greater Latrobe. Last season, he threw for 1,289 yards and 17 touchdowns and ran for 1,117 yards and 16 TDs. Defensively, he made 73 tackles and had three interceptions. He also had a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.

3. Ziyyon Bredell, Abraham Lincoln; 6-foot-1, 175 pounds (No. 27 overall)
Committed to Syracuse

A converted wide receiver, Bredell picked off seven passes as a junior in his first year playing cornerback.

4. William Felder, Jr., Roman Catholic; 6-foot-2, 195 pounds (No. 28 overall)
Committed to Duke

Recruited as a safety, he can move all over the secondary and did just that for the Cahillite a season ago, leading the tema with four fumble recoveries. He also plays basketball for Roman Catholic. He carries a 4.6 GPA in the classroom.

5. Saxton Suchanic, Central York; 6-foot-2, 180 pounds (No. 30 overall)
Committed to Connecticut

A three-sport athlete at Central York, Suchanic did not allow a single touchdown through 12 games as a junior last season.

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

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