Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge: Top five defensive backs
ATLANTA – The Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge returned to Atlanta last week, drawing top prospects from around the country to compete in the elite event. We continue our position-by-position breakdown of the Five-Star Challenge, looking at the top performers at the defensive back position.
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FIVE-STAR CHALLENGE COVERAGE: The QB Report | The RB Report | The WR/TE Report | The OL Report | The DL Report | The LB Report | Gorney's thoughts | Teams with the top commits | Analysis from Atlanta | MVP spotlight | WR vs. DB Part 2 | WR vs. DB Part 1 | OL vs. DL | RB vs. LB | Sherrod Covil commits to Clemson during Five-Star Challenge | The Gorney Awards | Rumor Mill
UNDERCLASSMEN CHALLENGE: Gorney Awards | MVP spotlight | Rumor Mill | Combine standouts | OL vs. DL Part 1 | Analysis from Atlanta
FIVE-STAR CHALLENGE INTERVIEWS: Lebbeus Overton | Oscar Delp | Shawn Murphy | Cade Klubnik | Jaylen Sneed | Dante Moore | Beau Atkinson | Justin Williams | Jeadyn Lukus | Dillon Tatum | Tawfiq Thomas | Trent Ramsey | Cayden Green | Travis Hunter
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1. MARQUIS GROVES-KILLEBREW
Groves-Killebrew is undeniably one of the most talented defensive backs in this class and it showed at the Five-Star Challenge. The Georgia commit has great range and long arms makes life really difficult on quarterbacks that try to squeeze passes into tight windows. Groves-Killebrew's overall speed was really impressive too. He came in second in the Fastest Man Challenge. That combination of size and speed can be very difficult for any receiver, big or small, to get open against.
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2. JULIAN HUMPHREY
Humphrey is also one of the bigger and faster defensive backs in this class and he wasn't afraid to play physically at the Five-Star Challenge. He did a nice job using his size to his advantage and it showed during the one-on-one session. Receivers had a difficult time breaking free against him. The Florida commit got his hand on a few passes but most of the time quarterbacks had a hard time finding an opening to throw into.
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3. JEADYN LUKUS
Lukus proved to be one of the freakiest athletes in this impressive group of cornerbacks. The South Carolina native had the biggest vertical jump of any player at the camp and he was also one of the five fastest. Lukus has a safety body with cornerback skills and he proved to be one of the toughest matchups at the Five-Star Challenge. His short area quickness should help him remain primarily a cornerback but his scheme versatility is just another reason why he is such an attractive prospect. Clemson and North Carolina are his top two contenders.
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4. DALE MILLER
Miller doesn't get talked enough about but he is a very solid cornerback with excellent instincts and quickness. He isn't the biggest cornerback so he's not going to throw any receivers around but he does a nice job shadowing defenders and making sure that quarterbacks have a difficult throw every time they target him. Expect his skill set to allow him to compete for playing time early in his career if he continues to physically develop.
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5. SHERROD COVIL
Covil had an outstanding day and capped it off with his commitment to Clemson. He had one of the best days of any of the defensive backs. Safeties don't always have great showings in one-on-ones but Covil did a nice job defending against the underneath passes. He projects as an in-the-box safety so he'll have to continue to make sure that he doesn't get taken advantage of down the field. His ability to anticipate passes thrown in front of him and his quickness when breaking downhill should create plenty of turnovers at the next level.