Important decisions await the nation's most prolific defensive backs.
Carter Bahns
The 2025 college football recruiting class continues to take shape this offseason as many of the nation’s top prospects shine at camps and gear up for the 7-on-7 circuit. The most prized targets received bumps in their ratings during the March Top247 rankings update, and quite a few of them locked in official and unofficial visits at the beginning of the month.
There is still a long way to go before National Signing Day, even with the early signing period moving up a couple of weeks. Defensive backs at both the cornerback and safety positions often rank among the nation’s top recruits, and this year is no different.
A handful of blue-chip prospects in the defensive backfield — including a pair of Ohio State-bound five-star cornerbacks — locked in their commitments, but the recruiting process is not over until the ink dries on their National Letters of Intent. Countless others will join them in pledging to the country’s most prolific programs in the months to come.
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Below are the top 10 defensive backs in the 2025 recruiting class and the latest intel surrounding their recruitments.
10. CB TARRION GRANT: PURDUE COMMIT
Rating: 4-Star | 93 Rating | No. 52 Overall | No. 5 CB
Status: Committed to Purdue
Purdue earned a big recruiting victory when it landed a commitment in mid-January from the nation’s No. 5 cornerback in Tarrion Grant. The Boilermakers have to play defense now, though, as Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama all offered the prized Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Siegel standout within a month of his commitment. Grant said he will look into the Crimson Tidebut has yet to schedule any further visits. He made 26 tackles last season and played on the other side of the ball, as well, catching four touchdown passes.
9. S IVAN TAYLOR: NOTRE DAME COMMIT
Rating: 4-Star | 93 Rating | No. 40 Overall | No. 5 S
Status: Committed to Notre Dame
Ivan Taylor closed his recruitment Dec. 1 with a Notre Dame commitment, but two months later, his primary recruiter departed for another job. Chris O’Leary, the Fighting Irish’s former safeties coach, left the program to join Jim Harbaugh with the Los Angeles Chargers. All signs point toward Taylor sticking with Notre Dame as he remains committed to the programand no others have entered the mix, but he does hold offers from multiple top schools in Alabama, Florida State, Michigan and others. The Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange safety tallied 45 tackles, six tackles for loss, one interception, one pass breakup and four forced fumbles last season.
8. CB DORIAN BREW: UNCOMMITTED
Rating: 4-Star | 93 Rating | No. 36 Overall | No. 4 CB
Status: Uncommitted
Crystal Ball: Ohio State (100%)
All three Crystal Ball Predictions see Dorian Brew committing to Ohio State, but his recruitment is far from over as multiple other schools are strongly in the mix and will receive visits in the coming weeks. The Conroe (Texas) High cornerback was at USC and Texas earlier this year, and Ohio State and Oklahoma coaches visited his school in January. Brew has strong ties to Ohio State and LSU, where his mother and father, respectively, starred on the track as sprinters.
7. S KAINOA WINSTON: UNCOMMITTED
Rating: 4-Star | 93 Rating | No. 35 Overall | No. 4 S
Status: Uncommitted
Crystal Ball: None
Penn State might be in the strongest position to land Kainoa Winston, whose cousin, KJ, is a starting safety for the Nittany lions. But he will take a look at other schools in the coming months, too. The No. 4-ranked safety in the 2025 class has already been on campus in State College numerous times throughout his recruitment but plans to return to North Carolina for an official visit in June and could schedule a couple of additional trips. Winston, who plays at Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga, accounted for 32 tackles, one tackle for loss, an interception and one forced fumble as a junior.
6. S FAHEEM DELANE: UNCOMMITTED
Rating: 4-Star | 94 Rating | No. 31 Overall | No. 3 S
Status: Uncommitted
Crystal Ball: Ohio State (100%)
Faheem Delane was the No. 1 safety in the class until the latest rankings update, but he is still an elite prospect as the No. 3 player at his position. He picked up a trio of Crystal Ball Predictionslast month as Ohio State picked up steam in his recruitment, but Oregon, Maryland and Texas are not far behind. Delane helped Olney (Md.) Our Lady Good Counsel win a conference championship as a junior, racking up 69 tackles and an eye-popping 18 pass breakups.
5. S JORDAN YOUNG: UNCOMMITTED
Rating: 4-Star | 94 Rating | No. 29 Overall | No. 2 S
Status: Uncommitted
Crystal Ball: Clemson (100%)
Jordan Young attended Clemson’s junior day and picked up a Crystal Ball Prediction to commit to the Tigers, but that was far from his last visit as he also got on campus at Alabama and Florida State in early February. The No. 2-ranked safety will return to both Clemson and Florida State for official visits later this spring, and Tennessee rounds out the group of schoolsworking the hardest to secure his talents. Young, at Monroe (N.C.) High, made 66 tackles — including two tackles for loss and a sack — last season while posting an interception, three pass breakups, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks.
4. S TREY Mcnu*tT: UNCOMMITTED
Rating: 4-Star | 94 Rating | No. 23 Overall | No. 1 S
Status: Uncommitted
Crystal Ball: None
The March rankings update moved Trey Mcnu*tt up to the top of the safety pecking order. He also plays at the nickel and corner positions on defense and sees reps on the other side of the ball at wide receiver. Mcnu*tt visited USC last week and hopes to get on multiple other campuses this month. Oregon, Miami and Missouri are the most recent programs to extend offers to the versatile playmaker, who also runs track and posted several sub-11.00 100-meter times as a sophom*ore.
3. CB DJ PICKETT: UNCOMMITTED
Rating: 5-Star | 98 Rating | No. 8 Overall | No. 3 CB
Status: Uncommitted
Crystal Ball: None
A commitment may not come until the fall, but DJ Pickett has a busy spring ahead of him. The two-way standout and multi-sport athlete from Tampa (Fla.) Zephyrhills “is focused on Miami, Oregon, LSU and Georgia,” according to 247Sports’ Tom Loy, but in-state schools Florida and Florida State could make noise, too. Pickett is in the middle of an LSU visit and will be on other campuses in the coming months. He totaled 31 tackles and an interception defensively last season while amassing 43 catches for 886 yards and 12 touchdowns on the other side of the ball.
2. CB NA’EEM OFFORD: OHIO STATE COMMIT
Rating: 5-Star | 98 Rating | No. 6 Overall | No. 2 CB
Status: Committed to Ohio State
Na’eem Offord became Ohio State’s second five-star cornerback commit in its 2025 class, but while he is obviously high on the Buckeyes, he continues to engage with other schools. In fact, he is in the middle of a Florida visit, shortly after making a trip to in-state power Alabama. Those are not the only schools attempting to flip him from his commitment, either. Oregon, Georgia, Miami and Auburn also remain big players in his recruitment. Offord tallied 14 tackles and four interceptions last season at Birmingham (Ala.) Parker, and as a three-phase standout, he caught a pair of touchdown passes and returned two punts to the end zone.
1. CB DEVIN SANCHEZ: OHIO STATE COMMIT
Rating: 5-Star | 98 Rating | No. 3 Overall | No. 1 CB
Status: Committed to Ohio State
If Ohio State holds onto both of its elite cornerback commits, the Buckeyes defense could remain one of the nation’s best for years to come. Devin Sanchez pledged to the program at January’s All-American Bowl, selecting the Buckeyes over finalists Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M. He has been to Columbus four times already, stands “completely firm” in his commitmentand is working on recruiting some of his highly sought-after peers to Ohio State. Sanchez made 21 tackles, picked off five passes and recorded 11 breakups while forcing two fumbles last fall at Houston (Texas) North Shore.
