Special to SI.com, Rivals.com
The Rivals.com recruiting experts have broken down countless hours of film and racked up plenty of frequent flyer miles to see the top prospects compete in games and at events across the country to come up with the most extensive and accurate prospect rankings and evaluations you will find. In the process of evaluating overall talent, several prospects gained notice for their mastery of specific skills.
Here are our postseason rankings for defensive players in a number of different categories.
For the offensive rankings, click here.
QUICKEST
1. Marcus Forston, Miami (Fla.) Northwestern Signed with Miami Was in the opposing backfield all week at U.S. Army All-American Bowl practices.
2. DeAngelo Tyson, Statesboro, Ga. Signed with Georgia Showed off his speed all week in practice at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
3. Corey Liuget, Hialeah, Fla. Signed with Illinois Was the most athletic defensive lineman at Offense-Defense All-American Bowl practices.
4. Stacey McGee, Muskogee, Okla. Signed with Oklahoma Gets off the ball fast and doesn't slow down when making moves.
5. Chancey Aghayere, Garland, Texas Signed with LSU Plays defensive end but his body structure will allow him to excel as a pass rusher on the inside.
STRONGEST
1. Marcus Forston, Miami (Fla.) Northwestern Signed with Miami Had no problem moving offensive lineman out of his way all season.
2. Mike Martin, Novi (Mich.) Detroit Catholic Central Signed with Michigan Martin boasts a 420-pound bench press max.
3. Brandon Thompson, Thomasville, Ga. Signed with Clemson He had a tremendous bull rush at the Under Armour practices.
4. Omar Hunter, Buford, Ga. Signed with Florida When technique didn't work, he flat out ran over offensive lineman all season.
5. Jarvis Humphrey, Cedar Hill, Texas Signed with Texas Humphrey is another bull-rush expert who excelled at the Under Armour practices.
BEST ATHLETE
1. Marcus Forston, Miami (Fla.) Northwestern Signed with Miami He excelled as a pass rusher and a run stopper at U.S. Army All-American practices.
2. Corey Liuget, Hialeah, Fla. Signed with Illinois He actually returned kicks for his high school team.
3. Chancey Aghayere, Garland, Texas Signed with LSU He displayed a quick first step and was great in pursuit at the U.S. Army All-American practices.
4. Garrett Goebel, Lombard (Ill.) Montini Signed with Ohio State Accomplished wrestler who uses agility well.
5. Lawrence Guy, Las Vegas (Nev.) Western Signed with Arizona State Has very light feet and showed them off at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
BEST RUN STUFFER
1. Stacey McGee, Muskogee, Okla. Signed with Oklahoma He is very strong at the point of attack despite raw technique.
2. Omar Hunter, Buford, Ga. Signed with Florida At 6-feet, 320 pounds, he is impossible to move.
3. Jarvis Humphrey, Cedar Hill, Texas Signed with Texas It is almost impossible for offensive lineman to get under his pads.
4. Marcus Forston, Miami (Fla.) Northwestern Signed with Miami He is very powerful and manhandles most offensive lineman.
5. Jurrell Casey, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly Signed with USC He helped Long Beach Poly only give up one rushing touchdown all season.
BEST PASS RUSHER
1. Marcus Forston, Miami (Fla.) Northwestern Signed with Miami Recorded 21 sacks in the highest classification in Florida.
2. Corey Liuget, Hialeah, Fla. Signed with Illinois Has speed to burn as a defensive lineman.
3. Stacey McGee, Muskogee, Okla. Signed with Oklahoma His highlights show off one of the best swim moves in the country.
4. Omar Hunter, Buford, Ga. Signed with Florida Has great technique and can be overpowering.
5. Lawrence Guy, Las Vegas (Nev.) Western Signed with Arizona State Has tremendous pursuit speed for a big man.
1. DaQuan Bowers, Bamberg (S.C.) Bamberg-Ehrhardt Signed with Clemson He was pushing around offensive tackles like paper dolls at Under Armour practice.
2. Ethan Johnson, Portland (Ore.) Lincoln Signed with Notre Dame He was injured his senior year but showed great strength as a junior.
3. Nick Perry, Detroit (Mich.) Martin Luther King Signed with USC Perry flashed power despite playing out of position at U.S. Army All American Bowl.
4. Chase Clement, Thibodaux (La.) E.D. White Signed with LSU He is very strong when he engages linemen.
5. Kavario Middleton, Lakewood (Wash.) Lakes Signed with Washington He uses his massive size to have his way with offensive lineman.
BEST AGAINST THE RUN
1. Tony Jerod, DeSoto, Texas Signed with Texas A&M Very active with excellent instincts against the run.
2. DaQuan Bowers, Bamberg (S.C.) Bamberg-Ehrhardt Signed with Clemson He is nearly impossible to move and has excellent pursuit speed.
3. Nathan Williams, Washington Court House (Ohio) Miami Trace Signed with Ohio State His linebacker skills coupled with his athleticism make him ideal for playing the run.
4. Michael Williams, Reform (Ala.) Pickens County Signed with Alabama Sheds blocks well and keeps his feet.
5. Chase Clement, Thibodaux (La.) E. D. White Signed with LSU Keeps blockers off by using his hands well and gets good push upfield.
1. R.J. Washington, Keller (Texas) Fossil Ridge Signed with Oklahoma He was the quickest off the edge at the U.S. Army All-American practices.
2. DaQuan Bowers, Bamberg (S.C.) Bamberg-Ehrhardt Signed with Clemson He can either run around the offensive lineman or push them out of his way.
3. Nick Perry, Detroit (Mich.) Martin Luther King Signed with USC He uses his strength to get offensive linemen off balance.
4. Tyler Westphal, Menasha (Wisc.) Signed with Wisconsin At Under Armour practices he used his long arms to get around the offensive lineman.
5. Toby Jackson, Griffin, Ga. Signed with Georgia Many in Georgia thought he was the most dominant player in the state.
QUICKEST FIRST STEP
1. R.J. Washington, Keller (Texas) Fossil Ridge Signed with Oklahoma He comes off the edge like a track star.
2. Cornelius Washington, Waynesboro (Ga.) Burke County Signed with Georgia This regional 100-meter champ can fly coming from his defensive end position.
3. Chaz Sutton, Savannah (Ga.) Jenkins Signed with South Carolina Not only did this speed rusher have three sacks in the GACA North South All-Star Game, he was also a running back in high school.
4. Datone Jones, Compton, Calif. Signed with UCLA He had 43 tackles for a loss as a senior because he gets into backfield so fast.
5. Quinton Coples, Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy Signed with North Carolina Long and rangy, he gets off the ball with a long first stride.
