Texas the leader in producing five-star defensive tackles

Over the history of Rivals dating back to 2002, certain states have produced more five-star prospects than others at certain positions. Today, we move to defensive tackles and look at which states have been most impactful and which ones have done surprisingly well.

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The names: Omar Hunter, Chris Hinton, Derrick Brown, Trenton Thompson, Montravius Adams, Aubrey Solomon

Overview: The state of Georgia does not have the most five-star defensive tackles in the Rivals era - that would be Texas - but five of six have come in the last decade and more could be coming soon because the state continues to pump out elite players at nearly every position. Brown looks to be the best of the bunch but the jury is still out on Hinton and Solomon.

Farrell’s take: Once again Georgia shows how valuable it is as a state when it comes to producing talent and Brown is the latest example. Adams was solid as well while it’s still too soon to know about Hinton and Solomon. The one thing you’ll notice is that just one — Thompson — stayed home and played at Georgia.

The names: Ed Oliver, Rodrique Wright, Franklin Okam, A’Shawn Robinson, Mario Edwards, Marvin Wilson, Malcolm Brown, Demarcus Granger

Overview: There have been five-star defensive tackles coming out of Texas for as long as Rivals has been in existence and it’s the state with the most of any when it comes to producing at that position. Oliver and Brown were first-round selections while Robinson and Edwards went in the second round. All were drafted except Granger and Wilson, who could be the first interior defensive lineman taken in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Farrell’s take: Some of these are older prospects but the recent ones like Oliver, Edwards, Robinson and Wilson have all had success out of state. Brown was an important in-state keep for Texas, but too many have gotten away. And the level of play in Texas continues to get better so teams will be poaching.

The names: Al Woods, Anthony Johnson, Maason Smith, Chris Davenport, Tyler Shelvin

Overview: The state of Louisiana has a lot of talented prospects across the board, but might lack on quantity. That’s not the case at defensive tackle, where Louisiana has produced five, the same number as Florida and more than California and other states. All of them have signed with LSU, and Smith has LSU, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Miami as his finalists. Every No. 1 prospect in the state has picked the Tigers dating back to Landon Collins in 2012, so LSU has to like its chances with Smith as well.

Farrell’s take: Lousiana is probably just behind Georgia and fifth overall in producing elite talent, but the number of defensive tackles is still impressive. LSU has landed all of them and they likely won’t let Smith get away either. He could be the best of the bunch.

Florida leads the way in the other states with five five-star defensive tackles followed by California, Michigan, New Jersey and North Carolina with three each. Maryland, Missouri and Pennsylvania have had two and then Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have boasted one each.