{"id":242099,"date":"2026-04-22T17:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/242099\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T17:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:53:11","slug":"fred-ards-defensive-line-jones-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/242099\/","title":{"rendered":"Fred Ards, defensive line, Jones High"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the second of a seven-part series that will take a look at the top players at each position among the Orlando area\u2019s high school football teams ahead of spring practice. Today we focus on the defensive line:<\/p>\n

Fred Ards, senior, Jones High<\/p>\n

When Fred Ards, all 6-foot-5, 235 pounds of him, walks onto a football field, his presence is immediately realized. The big defensive end looks the part. He\u2019s big and muscular \u2026 cut from the cloth of a football-sculpted pattern.<\/p>\n

But the boy\u2019s actions did not always match the appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he first came to us, in the middle of his ninth-grade year (from Oak Ridge), he was just a big kid. Really immature,\u201d said Billy Daniels, the Jones defensive coordinator. \u201cHe thought he was a receiver. His travels have matured him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s seen what\u2019s possible, and he uses that as a source of motivation to change who he is, whether that\u2019s in the classroom, in the weight room or on the field. He was a kid when we got him. He\u2019s a man now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offensive opponents are well aware. When Ards, who is ranked as the No. 1 player in the Sentinel\u2019s 2027 Central Florida Super60<\/a>, comes with his full force of aggression, there aren\u2019t many offensive linemen who can stop him. He\u2019s big, quick around the edge and fast to the quarterback.<\/p>\n

Daniels loves Ards and will talk about his star edge rusher all day. And he\u2019s well aware that sometimes he loses focus.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FredFred Ards of Jones High has developed into the best defensive lineman in the Orlando area. (Chris Hays\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Ards did not play well in this past year\u2019s Class 4A state championship game, which Jones lost 33-28 to Plantation American Heritage<\/a>, for the second straight season. He knew he didn\u2019t play well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows he has to improve, and he\u2019s a sponge and wants to listen and learn,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cHe disappeared in the state championship. We have no idea why he was hesitant. That was one of the hardest things to watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he understands the process. His work ethic has never been a problem, but now instead of doing what\u2019s required of him, he\u2019s taking it to another level and wants to go above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scary thing about Ards, at least for opponents, is that he hasn\u2019t even come close to realizing his full potential. Ards, however, is already impressive. Daniels has seen athletic potential. He coached future NFL star Kenard Lang, now the head coach at Leesburg, at Evans back in 1991.<\/p>\n

\u201cFred is further along, as an explosive edge defender, than Kenard was at this stage,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cKenard was a special talent, and led us to a state co-championship his junior year. Fred is further along in his understanding and physical development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The potential is there, and Daniels can\u2019t wait to see Ards blossom further. Last season he had 80 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs he continues to grow and add weight and add strength, that is going to really separate him from anybody else,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cHe can beat you with his speed, but he\u2019s rounding out his technique to be able to play run, and play in space.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really improved his footwork. He\u2019s got multiple pass-rush moves. He\u2019s improved his strength and understanding of how blockers are trying to take him on. \u2026 What I\u2019m looking forward to is to see him be able to beat you physically and mentally, simultaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jones'Jones’ defensive end Fred Ards is the No 1-ranked player in the Sentinel’s 2027 Central Florida Super60. (Chris Hays\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Off the field, he\u2019s a genuine person with a terrific personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny kid on Jones\u2019 campus, it doesn\u2019t even have to be within the football program, Fred will talk to them,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cHe treats everybody from the standpoint that you are a friend. It\u2019s not what you can do for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a four- or five-star athlete who is humble. Kids look up to him. Just because of how he treats everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ards can see the future, and he\u2019s doing what he can now to pave the road ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very mature, he knows what he wants, he knows this game is a business, and he knows what it can provide for him,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to watch his progression from where he was when he got to us to where he is currently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WestWest Orange 2028 defensive end Matheus Kaminski Cordeiro was an MVP at the Under Armour Camp Series event at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Chris Hays\/Orlando Sentinel)
\nOther Orlando defensive linemen<\/p>\n

Matheus Kaminski Cordeiro, junior, West Orange<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t many players who have the passion and motor like that of Kaminski Cordeiro (6-3, 212). He\u2019s incredibly active at the line of scrimmage, almost hyper, and he wreaks havoc on offenses with his get-off and quickness. He had 53 tackles last season, 19 tackles for loss and nine sacks.<\/p>\n

Drew Follet, senior, Bishop Moore<\/p>\n

Follet is big, like Ards, at 6-4, 235, and he is equally athletic. He has the ability to slip in at tight end and plays both ways. He had a great junior year after coming over from Winter Park and helped the Hornets replace the loss of All-American Jake Kreul, who had left for IMG and is now at Oklahoma. Follet had 13 tackles, three tackles for loss and on offense had 17 catches for 306 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Jeau-Pierre Furtado, senior, The First Academy<\/p>\n

Furtado is a perfect example of undersized talent. He\u2019s 6-2, 280, so college coaches will balk at him due to his height, but he\u2019s a menace at the line of scrimmage. He does an impressive job of using his leg power and upper-body strength to move bigger offensive linemen and has an active motor, even for a D-tackle.<\/p>\n

Jason Lewis, senior, Kissimmee Osceola<\/p>\n

Lewis, at 6-3, 265, has mega-star potential, but he played injured last season. This kid has college coaches drooling. Perhaps overshadowed last season by the play of stellar defensive tackle Amier Clarke, Lewis\u2019 stats were a bit lower for what might have been expected. Yet, he \u00a0still played well and missed three games. He finished with 37 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks.<\/p>\n

Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is the second of a seven-part series that will take a look at the top players at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1745,3745,139,141,140,76046,76642,110],"class_list":["post-242099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-high-school-football","tag-high-school-sports","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-social-sports","tag-social-varsity-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}