Southern California's Top DBs to watch this 2025 high school football season

The top defensive backs to watch this upcoming 2025 high school football season.

Sierra Canyon's Havon Finney is one of California's top cornerbacks in 2026, heading to LSU. / Samuel Mawanda

Southern California is home to some of the best defensive backs in the country — many of which reside in the CIF Southern Section — but this looks at all the best DBs in SoCal.

Be sure to check back on all of High School On SI's preseason football coverage, as Senior Reporter Tarek Fattal breaks down the top players to watch and releases the preseason Top 25 rankings in the CIF Southern Section on Sunday, Aug. 10.

Here are the top SoCal defensive backs to watch in 2025:

(Name, school, year, college (if committed))

1. DAVON BENJAMIN, OAKS CHRISTIAN, SR. (OREGON)

Natural athlete that impacts a football game no matter where you put him. Since he was a freshman, Benjamin has been a standout. Last year, this fringe 5-star recruit caught 34 passes for 404 yards and two touchdowns while adding 464 yards on returns. On defense, tallied 45 tackles, five for loss, picked off six passes, returning three for TDs.

2. JUJU JOHNSON, LONG BEACH POLY, JR.

Johnson has emerged as one of top prospects in California for the 2027 class. 247Sports' Greg Biggins thinks Johnson can play corner, safety or wideout in college. Johnson is also an outstanding track athlete who already has offers to USC, Miami, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and Michigan.

3. DUVAY WILLIAMS, GARDENA SERRA, JR.

Wiliams is a pure cover corner with great speed, instincts and length. His skills have earned him a whopping 42 scholarship offers. He's a 'can go wherever he wants' kind of prospect. In nine games, he had 47 tackles and 16 pass deflections.

4. HAVON FINNEY, SIERRA CANYON, SR. (LSU)

Finney reclassified to 2026. He's a fast, physical corner with elite speed and size (6-foot-2). Last year, he had 37 tackles, four INTs and a force fumble. He also returned two punts for TDs.

5. BRANDON LOCKHART, SIERRA CANYON, SR. (USC)

Lockhart transferred to Sierra Canyon from Loyola. He had 42 tackles and five INTs in 10 games last fall. He's a tremendous athlete that can cover ground fast; he also a very good open field tackler.

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6. JERON JONES, MISSION VIEJO, SR. (WASHINGTON)

Jones is a track and football guy. He runs the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay, which shows off his pure athleticism. On the field, he tallied 51 tackles with three INTs in 11 games from the corner position in 2024.

7. JOSH HOLLAND, ST. JOHN BOSCO, SR. (USC)

Holland will be one of the featured pieces for the nationally-ranked Braves this upcoming 2025 season. The 6-foot-2 USC commit had 45 tackles, three INTs and seven pass breakups last season.

8. MADDEN RIORDAN, SIERRA CANYON, SR. (USC)

Riordan had a tremendous 2024 campaign. The ballhawk had 10 interceptions and 14 pass deflections in 12 games. He added 43 tackles to his defensive tally, too.

9. HONOR FA'ALAVE-JOHNSON, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC, JR.

Fa'alave-Johnson will be one of the better prospects out of San Diego the next two seasons. He's a 4-star recruit with offers to Auburn, BYU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and USC.

10. DONTE WRIGHT, LONG BEACH POLY, JR. (GEORGIA)

In eight games as a sophomore, he totaled 23 tackles, two for loss, had one INT and had five pass breakups.

OTHERS TO WATCH BY CLASS

SENIORS (2026)

• Derrick Johnson, Murrieta Valley (Oklahoma)
• Jaxson Gates, Damien (BYU)
• Tay Lockett, San Diego University High (Arkansas)
• Jayden Crowder, Santa Margarita (Cal)
• Logan Hirou, Santa Margarita (UCLA)
• Earnest Nunley, Western (Cal)
• Marcellous Ryan, Gardena Serra (North Carolina)
• Justin Lewis, Rancho Cucamonga (UCLA)
• CJ Lavender, Mater Dei (Washington)
• Trey Brown, Sierra Canyon (Kansas)
• Max Martin-Beckmann, Notre Dame/SO
• Isaiah Lucero, Northview

JUNIORS (2027)

• Aaryn Washington, Mater Dei
• Gavin Williams, Damien
• Jailen Hill, St. John Bosco
• Darius Johnson, Murrieta Valley
• Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, St. John Bosco
• Khalil Terry, Tustin
• Evan Mack, Long Beach Wilson
• Danny Lang, Mater Dei
• Myles Baker, Sierra Canyon

SOPHOMORES (2028)

• Jordan Kirkpatrick, Centennial
• CJ Washington, Orange Lutheran
• Ace Leutele, Mater Dei
• Jalen Flowers, Palos Verdes
• Brandon Nash, St. John Bosco
• Micah Hannah, Simi Valley
• Armon Long, Downey

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2024 CIF SOUTHERN SECTION RECAP

The CIF Southern Section is heralded as one of the most talented high school football state associations in the country, most notably because it's home to juggernaught programs like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

As we head into the 2025 season, here's a headline recap of what happened in the CIF Southern Section last fall.

MATER DEI GOES BACK TO BACK

The Monarchs won their second straight CIF-SS Division 1 title and second straight national title in 2024, which was anchored by an ultra-elite defense and first-year coach Raul Lara.

Mater Dei defeated St. John Bosco 31-24 in the section final before going on to thump De La Salle in the CIF State Open Division title game 37-15.

The 2024 campaign might've garnered the Monarchs their best team ever. HERE'S WHY

NEWBURY PARK STUNS D2 IN TITLE RUN

5-star QB Brady Smigiel and wideout Shane Rosenthal (now at UCLA) led the Panthers the CIF Southern Section Division 2 crown in 2024 after question marks about their soft schedule arose before the postseason.

• Newbury Park football forges improbable CIF championship run fueled by naysayers

Newbury Park defeated top tier programs like San Jacinto, San Clemente (on the road) and Yorba Linda en route to its 31-28 victory over Murrieta Valley (in Murrieta) to win the Division 2 title. It was the program's first CIF title since 1993.

JULIUS GILLICK CAN'T PLAY TITLE GAME FOR EDISON

One of the section's top runners, Julius Gillick of Edison, is ejected from the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinal against Vista Murrieta for two unsportsmanlike penalties. The first was due to a touchdown celebration. The second was due to 'excessive celebration'.

Despite an appeal, Gillick couldn't play in the CIF final. Despite his absence, Edison beat Simi Valley 35-21.

High School On SI reporter Tarek Fattal broke down the controversary (video below).

THE 'COMPETITIVE EQUITY' CHAMPION

St. Pius coach Devah Thomas was not shy about his team's accomplishments in 2024 ... afterall the season did result in a CIF title.

Under the new competitive equity rules that decide playoff placement, St. Pius' strength of schedule rating earned the program a berth to the Division 8 playoffs despite being 1-9 (an 0-8 start).

• How St. Pius won a CIF championship after one-win season

The Warriors ended up making a run to win the Division 8 crown over Serrano 38-19.

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