A talented group of defenders will patrol secondaries around the country on Friday nights this fall. Here’s our list of the 10 best high school safeties entering the 2022 season.
1. Caleb Downs (Mill Creek, GA)
Undoubtedly the best of the high school safeties in 2022 is Downs, a five-star prospect out of Mill Creek High School in Georgia. The top-rated overall player in the state – he also plays on offense – Downs totaled 77 tackles and five interceptions for the Hawks as a junior a year ago.
2. Joenel Aguero (St. John’s Prep, MA)
While Downs is the clear No. 1 at safety, a few others are not far behind, with Aguero leading the best of the rest. A five-star prospect, Aguero spent the 2021 campaign at IMG Academy in Florida, but has since transferred back to St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts for his senior season.
3. Derek Williams (Westgate, LA)
Another player not far behind Downs among the best high school safeties in 2022 is Williams, a five-star prospect out of Westgate High School in Louisiana. An impact player for one of Louisiana’s top teams, he’s currently committed to Texas.
4. Peyton Bowen (Guyer, TX)
Texas has a notable amount of top names returning at safety in 2022, with the headliner being Bowen, a four-star prospect from Guyer High School. The Notre Dame commit collected 59 tackles a year ago, as well as an impressive six interceptions.
5. Mike Matthews (Parkview, GA)
Georgia owns not only the No. 1 safety in the 2023 class in Downs, but potentially the top safety in the 2024 class in Matthews. The five-star prospect out of Parkview High School played both ways as a sophomore in 2021, a season that included 27 tackles and an interception.
6. KJ Bolden (Buford, GA)
If Matthews isn’t the leader in the 2024 class at safety, then it is likely Bolden. An elite two-way prospect from Georgia’s Buford High School (he’s also a highly touted wide receiver), Bolden is considered as five-star and top-10 player nationally for 2024.
7. Cedrick Hawkins (Cocoa, FL)
Despite not being ranked as highly as some of the other recruits on this list, Hawkins can boast a 2021 season equaled by few. Florida’s top returning safety for 2022, the four-star Ohio State commit collected 117 tackles and four interceptions a year ago at Cocoa High School.
8. Zaquan Patterson (Chaminade-Madonna, FL)
Patterson, a five-star 2024 prospect from Chaminade-Madonna High School, is not far behind Hawkins as the top safety in Florida. The rising junior is coming off a 2021 campaign that included 69 tackles and four sacks for one of Florida’s top teams.
9. Malik Hartford (Lakota West, OH)
The No. 9 spot on this list of best high school safeties in 2022 goes to Hartford, a four-star prospect out of Lakota West High School in Ohio. One of the top players in the state, the Ohio State commit is coming off a junior season that included 58 tackles and two interceptions.
10. Peyton Woodyard (St. John Bosco, CA)
If it wasn’t clear by now, the 2024 class is shaping up to be a special one when it comes to elite talent at the safety position, with Woodyard as another name in that group. A five-star prospect out of national powerhouse St. John Bosco in California, Woodyard collected 62 tackles a year ago as a sophomore.
