2023 Herald-Times All-Area Football Team Defense: Ralph Rogers repeats as top defender

Ralph Rogers just knew where he needed to be.

It only took a second in some cases to pivot his body and begin flying to where the football was headed, intercepting its carrier. The Bloomington South senior linebacker had a nose for the football, and the giddy-up to cover the field from sideline to sideline.

"With kids like Ralph, you don't very often get a guy so good instinctfully as he is," South coach Gabe Johnson said. "I'd like to tell you we coached him into being everything he is. We coached him hard but he had the eyes.

"A lot of plays Ralph makes is just him. My guess is, he couldn't describe it. It's just see it and go."

So we'll go ahead and give Rogers, the Herald-Times Defensive Football Player of the Year in 2022, the same honor in 2023. He had a team-best 125 tackles (81 solo) with eight for loss and two sacks. He caused three fumbles and a blocked punt, and he was named IFCA Class 5A Senior All-State.

More: 2023 Herald-Times All-Area Football Team Offense: QB Jarrin Alley leads the way

"He's a playmaker," Johnson said. "Defensively, he's just a playmaker. At times, he shouldn't have made the play. Nothing given to him should have allowed him to make the plays he does. His read should have taken him to the right and instead, he went left and that's where the ball went.

"I don't know if I've had a better player whose instincts and nose for getting to the football. He lets his gifts for speed to take over at that position. And for him to do that consistently, with the tangible things. Is he undersized? Yes. A lot of college teams don't know where he fits."

And that was a question South had to answer when he arrived from North, where he'd seen the field as a freshman.

"We could have put him in three or four places, but inside linebacker made the most sense," Johnson said. "What colleges will have to figure out, is where to put him. Just put him in a spot where he'll go make plays. He's such a natural football player."

Gabe Johnson: Ralph Rogers will 'be hard to replace'

That said, don't get the idea Rogers was ever freelancing or failing to fill his gap before he went hunting.

"Ralph never went anywhere he wasn't supposed to," Johnson said. "Systems are the systems, but for the first two seconds after the snap. Then it's all bets are off and get to the ball.

"In our system, we expect everyone to get to the ball. At some point, if the system isn't off, the ball will go through one person's gap. So technically, it's just one person's play, but really, it's everybody's play."

Once Rogers knew his gap was clear, in his mind, his responsibilities were just beginning. There was no loafing. And yeah, South keeps track of 'loafs', when a player stops giving 100% before the play is over, something Rogers was seldom dinged for.

If anything, when they watch film, they have to rewind to figure out just how Rogers got to the ball in the first place.

Moaned Johnson: "He'll be hard to replace."

2023 Herald-Times All-Area Football Defense

LB: Ralph Rogers, South, Sr.

Repeat H-T Defensive Player of the Year and was everywhere he needed to be again this season, piling up a team-best 125 tackles (81 solo), eight for loss and two sacks. Caused three fumbles and a blocked punt. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Senior All-State. Third time All-Area.

LB: Zeke Trueblood, North, Jr.

One of the leaders for an improved defense, finishing with 71 tackles, 9½ for loss and had a team-high four sacks. Recovered two fumbles. All-CI. Repeat All-Area.

LB: Duke Conrad, South, Sr.

Another big year with 89 tackles, 56 solo and a team-best 11 for loss. Tied for the team lead with five sacks and had an interception and two fumble recoveries. All-CI. Repeat All-Area.

LB: Evan Ferkingstad, Eastern Greene, Sr.

Two-way standout had 80 tackles and caused two fumbles on defense. Also rushed for 246 yards and a touchdown. All-Southwestern Conference.

LB: Ben Godar, South, Jr.

Another big playmaker for the Panthers who had 68 tackles, 43 solo and had seven tackles for loss to go along with two interceptions and five sacks.

DL: Noah Fox, South, Sr.

Clogged up the middle for the Panthers, finishing with 70 tackles and nine for loss. Tied for team lead in sacks with five. All-CI. Repeat All-Area.

DL: Grey Hostetler, North, Sr.

Game wrecker at end before an injury ended his season in Week 7. Had 35 tackles including a team-best 13 for loss, three sacks and seven QB hurries. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Senior All-State. Repeat All-Area. Signed to play at the University of Indianapolis.

DL: Tysen Smith, South, Sr.

Two-way threat had a strong year on defense with 41 tackles, 25 solo and seven for loss and two sacks and blocked a field goal in the semistate game. At tight end, caught 22 passes for 294 yards and a TD. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Senior All-State. Repeat All-Area. Signed to play at Toledo.

DL: Nate Hankins, North, Jr.

Had 39 tackles with eight for loss and had a sack and 10 quarterback hurries from his tackle position. All-CI.

DB: Miles McKay, South, Jr.

Ballhawk had a team-best four interceptions and was No. 3 in tackles with 95, including 62 solo. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Junior All-State.

DB: Evan Rogers, Eastern Greene, Sr.

Leader of the T-Birds' secondary had 78 tackles, including a team-high 37 solos. Picked off three passes, returned one for a score, and had four pass breakups.

DB: Ross Ogden, North, So.

Hybrid linebacker safety was a big-play guy for the Cougars. Had 52 tackles, including 28 solos and 10 for loss. Had two sacks, three interceptions and three passes defended.

DB: Stephon Opoku, North, Sr.

Cover-man had 12 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups. Dangerous on kickoff return with a 96-yarder for a score. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Senior All-State. Repeat All-Area. Committed to the University of Indianapolis.

P/S: Graham Freund, North, Sr.

Free safety had 40 tackles, with 4½ for loss, a sack and four QB hurries. Led the team with four interceptions and five passes broken up. Averaged 34.5 yards per punt, hit a 26-yard field goal and went 4-of-6 on extra points. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Senior All-State. Repeat All-Area.

ATH: Gunner Caswell, Edgewood, Sr.

Did a bit of everything for the Mustangs, especially when injuries hit. At linebacker, led the team with 62 tackles and had two interceptions, returning one for a score. At running back had 39 carries for 130 yards. On special teams, handled kickoffs, punts and hit nine of 12 extra point kicks. Will play at Olivet Nazarene.

ATH: Drew Crum-Hieftje, South, Sr.

Had 37 tackles and was second on the team in interceptions with three. Also spent time at tight end, catching five passes for 114 yards and a TD and returned kickoffs and punts. Repeat All-Area. Will play at Marian.

HONORABLE MENTION: Ethan Barnes, South, Sr. (DL); Will Breedlove, North, Jr. (DB); Lane Clark, Eastern Greene, Sr. (DL); Adrian Rheam, South, Sr. (CB); Ben Ridner, South, Sr. (LB); Bryce Teague, Eastern Greene, Sr. (LB).

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Herald-Times All-Area Football: Check out the 2023 Defense Team