Stacked front 7 leads Columbus’ title defense by tormenting other OLs (and even its own)
It’s not always easy to be an offensive lineman at Columbus these days. The Explorers lost four of their five regular starting offensive linemen from their Class 4M-winning team last season and the new-look group has spent the last few weeks trying to get to the point where they can help Columbus defend its latest state championship.
This, alone, would be a challenge. It’s made even tougher by the four guys they have to block every single day at practice in Miami.
Lazaro Medina, a sophomore and starting guard, got one of those tough lessons during the first week of practice earlier in August. The offensive lineman stepped in front of Robert Williams, tried to stand his ground and wound up flat on his back — and this was against the under-the-radar, still sort-of unknown senior in the middle of the defensive line.
“Laz,” coach Dave Dunn told the underclassman as he got back up, “welcome to high school football, buddy.”
Even on a roster loaded with future college players, the front seven stands out, and is one of the biggest reasons the Explorers are probably the favorite to repeat in 4M and win a third state title.
Williams, who’s still unranked in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2024, orally committed to FIU last month and mans the middle of the line as a defensive tackle. Russell, who was the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Defensive Player of the Year for Classes 4M-3M last year and yet is comparatively unheralded as a three-star defensive lineman, is also staying home and going to Miami. Four-star edge rusher Dylan Stephenson is one of the top-ranked recruits in Dade County and is committed to Stanford. Those three were all already in the fold and then Columbus got even better in the offseason when three-star Willis McGahee, who’s pledged to Nebraska, transferred to the private school from Palmetto.
They give the Explorers something to lean on, especially while the offense adjusts to playing with a young line and former four-star running back Sedrick Irvin Jr., who’s now a freshman for the Cardinal after running for more than 1,000 yards last year.
“Every team is different,” star quarterback Alberto Mendoza said. “Our depth, especially on defense, is incredible.”
It’s not to say Columbus lacks firepower on offense — Mendoza is committed to James Madison, star wide receiver Jose Leon is headed to Appalachian State and star tight end Benjamin Blackburn, one of the faster-rising recruits in South Florida, picked Boston College in June. It’s just the defense, particularly up front, is so stacked.
Stephenson, at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, is the No. 2 prospect in the county. Russell had a sack and a forced fumble in the state title game last season, and committed to the Hurricanes even though he’s undersized at 6-1 and 235 pounds. Williams, 6-2 and 256 pounds, is poised for a breakout senior season, everyone around the program insists. McGahee, 6-1 and 225 pounds, brings a different dimension as a stand-up linebacker, who will also put his hand in the dirt and rush the passer, and help the Explorers overcome the loss of former four-star edge rusher TJ Capers, who reclassified from the 2024 recruiting class into the Class of 2023 in July and enrolled at Louisville.
Last season, those four combined for 25 sacks — 11 for McGahee with the Panthers, eight for Russell, five for Stephenson and one for Williams — and their excellence, Columbus believes, will elevate the rest of the roster.
“It’s a lot of competition. We go after it every day,” Blackburn said. “It’s good to get reps against those guys because when I get to college, I’m going to be going against that type of caliber player.”
Added Dunn: “You’re going to get better just by playing against them every day in practice.’”
It’s a test the inexperienced Explorers are going to need. Columbus begins 2023 with a preseason game against Clearwater Academy International, which was one of the top 15 teams in Florida last year, according to MaxPreps. Once the regular season begins, five of Columbus’ nine scheduled games are against teams ranked among the top 100 in the state last year.
After winning their first two state titles in the last four years, the Explorers are at a new level as a program, the No. 23 team in the nation, and blend Columbus’ old-school, disciplined mentality with elite talent like the school has rarely ever seen.
“I’m not saying we’re not talented because we are, but we’re not always the most talented team when we take the field,” Dunn said. “We always kind of have a hard-hat mentality.”
