Top 10 Illinois defensive players for 2024 HS football season

5. Gabe Kaminski, Sr., Nazareth Academy

Kaminski isn’t as highly rated as some who are toward the top of this list, but he has been an incredibly productive linebacker at Nazareth Academy and has a bright future ahead. The Roadrunners have won back-to-back IHSA Class 5A state championships with plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and Kaminski has been a big part of that. Despite starting 0-4 last year, Nazareth Academy capped the year with a title as Kaminski made 15 tackles in the state championship victory, part of 140 tackles he had overall on the year. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge rusher also had 49 tackles for loss and 21 sacks as an all-state performer in 2023. Kaminski, a three-star recruit who will play college football at Stanford next year, will aim to put up similar numbers during the Roadrunners’ quest for a three-peat this fall.

INTERCEPTION: @gabe_kaminski picks it off in the red zone. @HilltoppersFB leads 20-10 with 2:13 left in the 3Q. pic.twitter.com/91KPUaBtbJ

— Michal Dwojak (@mdwojak94) November 25, 2023