Spence and Co. Presents The Top 10 2025 East Texas Preseason Defensive Linemen

One of the great positions coming back are the defensive lineman from East Texas. These 10 all have different styles, but they all wreck the offense's day. Quick as lightening or immovable forces, these 10 are the best.

Charles Livingston out of Athens, Texas is a dominant, disruptive force who plays hard. At 6' 205 pounds he's not this polarizing intimidator, but when you cut the tape on, Livingston is getting after it snap after snap. In 8 games last season Livingston recorded 54 tackles and 8 for loss. Livingston plays with his hair on fire, driving back weaker offensive tackles, and causing major disruption in the odd front the Hornets run.

The Leopards went deep in the playoffs last season, and notably the offense gets a ton of credit, but defensively LE did held their own, and Haire was a big reason for it. Lasts season, Haire had 65 tackles and 9 for loss. He's a load for offensive linemen to try to handle on a 1v1 basis, and plays with enough effort to be able to handle a double team. Haire has offers from D1 schools, so it'll be fun to see how 2025 plays out and where he lands in college.

In 7 games last season, Savage had 32 tackles and 4 sacks as a 4 tech in Mt. Pleasant's odd structured defense. Savage's name serves close to his game, as strength and ability to whip opponents just scream savage. Mount Pleasant has had some incredible defensive players in the past 5 seasons, and Savage is ready to add his name to the list of Tigers who've made the Top 100.

North Texas commit Truth Holmes is a big run stopper out of Sulphur Springs. Holmes looks like a monster. At 6'4 260, Holmes towers over opponents, and with his get off and strength he managed to make 52 tackles, 4 for loss and 3 sacks last season for the Wildcats. It's evident to see why colleges want him at such size and athleticism. 2025, Holmes will have to be even more disruptive to carry the wildcats and potentially make the Top 100.

Tyler Hagler has been a baller for the Buckeye's for 2 seasons in a row, and in 2024 Hagler did his big one. Hagler was credited with 103 tackles, 10 for loss and 2 sacks, while also catching an interception in his junior season. At 6' 300 plus, Hagler is too much for 1v1 blocks, and has athleticism to throw blockers away and make tackles. Last season, Hagler graded out as a 90, just missing the top 100, but I have a feeling this year we'll see him at the end.

Last season, McGhee made his debut on the top 100, crashing the list in his junior season at 68. At 6'3 275, McGhee can hold offensive linemen at bay with his arm length and dispose of ball carriers. The TCU commit has great pursuit when tracking down QBs, and looks great going into his senior year. We'll see if Duncan add on to his 73 tackles, 15 for loss and 4 sack performance in 2024.

Texas Tech Red Raider commit Ayden Johnson stands at 6'2 and weighs all of 315 and makes every mf on the offensive line feel him. In 7 games last season, Johnson recorded 35 tackles and 5 tackles for loss, and while those numbers don't scream OP, playing nose in a 3-4 defense and garnering double teams every play will have that impact. Teams don't dare trying to block Johnson 1v1, and they better not. 

A rising beast comes out of Lindale is junior Camden Beason. Beason, 6'2 295 pounds, is the center of destruction for Lindale's defensive line. The junior is hella explosive to be so large, and kinda like the last 3 guys, you're a fool if you're trying to block him 1v1. Beason violently displaces the line of scrimmage, gets rid of offensive linemen, and destroys backs in the backfield. Beason's a beast and I can't wait to see what's in store for 2025.

Houston Cougar commit Kaleb Walker has been wrecking shop for the past 2 seasons at Lindale, and you don't want smoke with him. At 6'1 250, Walker doesn't have the ideal 4 or 5 star size, but trust me, he produces and plays on that type of level. Violent, disruptive Walker can ball with some of the best in the state and has been made the Top 100 the past 2 seasons. With him and Beason, the Lindale Eagles should be stiff against the run next year. 

The most dominate performance from 2024 came from Kilgore's Cam Christian. At 6' 280, Christian is a bull in the middle and can shut down your run game. Last season, Christian had 106 tackles, 11 for loss, and 7 sacks. 100 plus tackles for a man that size let's you know just how relentless Cam was in 2024, and how important he was on one of the best defenses in the state of Texas. Cam's got offers, so it'll be interesting to see where and who he'll end up playing for at the end of 2025.