2025 Watch List: 5 Up and Coming WR’s

Within the state of North Carolina, there is plenty of quality talent, at various positions. This comes in each class, regardless of how young, or old prospects may be. College programs have taken notice of this, and more eyes have been drawn to the state within recent years than it has before. Below, even though they are young, we wanted to take some time to shine light on some of the best up and coming receivers in the 2025 class. Take some time to take a peek at them, as we doubt that you will be disappointed. [player_tooltip player_id="286179" first="CJ" last="Hartley"]- Union Academy Throughout the state of North Carolina, you will find plenty of talent at the WR position, even when looking at the younger players in the state, but it is rare that they already have the developmental size and frame that Hartley already has as a 2025 prospect. At this point in his high school career, he has displayed a frame, and build that is very developmental, with the likelihood of being able to add good, healthy weight and muscle moving forward. Last season, he showed plenty of flashes of his up and coming talent, as he proved to be able to get off of the ball well, and stack defenders with ease when running routes. Hartley also displayed strengths in being able to high point the football and box out defenders who are in contention of the catch. Due to this great body control, and decent footwork in his routes, we believe that he will continue to develop as a route runner, and that his hands will be more natural in year 2, making him a problem for defenses. CJ Neely- Ben L. Smith Out of all of the players on this list, Neely is far and beyond one of the longer prospects you will see. This has already been a beneficial factor for Neely, as it helps him to check defenders off of the line, and use his arms, and hands to create separation, along with his raw footwork. At this stage of his progression, this is a big help in terms of allowing him to get open on his routes. Neely also puts out tape that reveals his ability to play with a great burst, and explosive twitch that allows him to gain extra yards after the catch, even making it easier for him to finish plays and score TD's. If he can continue to work on the fluidity of his movement, and the way he gets out of his breaks, we have no doubt that he is one of the better up and coming prospects in the state, and that he will slowly start to get offers that reflect this. Hayezon Tobe- Asheville School Out of each of the players on this list, Tobe is by far our favorite, and most promising prospect. To start, he not only plays with great body control, but he has great burst, and speed, making it hard to keep up with him out of his breaks, and when he changes direction. He may be a tad raw in his routes, and with his footwork, but his ability to stack defenders, and separate, creates leverage for him to make great catches, and plays after the catch. These plays result in plenty of yards, and even points for his team. Tobe is also a physical player, which is great to see from a WR, especially paired with his ability to move fluidly, and cleanly, making it easy for him to change direction. Jazear Griffin- Anson When watching the tape on Griffin, there is no doubt that he is the most physical player on this list. To start, he has no problem making blocks, and putting his body on the line when needed. This sacrifice is also reflective of his ability to fully use his frame, and size to out-match opposing players. Griffin also proves to play with a great catch radius as well, making catches in various parts of the field, and at various catch angles. His catch radius, body control, and balance will likely make him a stud of a receiver for his team in the coming years, and this will be seen every time he boxes out defenders to make contested catches. If he can continue to improve in his short, and intermediate route running, he may receiver more attention earlier on than he may expect. Sawyer Belue- Tuscola Sawyer may be one of the more raw prospects on this up and coming list, but we see flashes of talent in the reps he took for Tuscola last season. By the end of the year, he totaled over 400 yards, with 3 TD's. At this point of time, his movements may seem a bit stiff, and slow at times, but he has decent short area quickness, which helps him to break tackles, and gain extra yards. When running routes, Sawyer also runs with decent footwork, and has the ability to get out of his breaks well, making it even easier on his QB to hit him in stride. Next year, we think he will take a leap forward in the way he plays the game as a whole, and think he is very much an up and coming prospect due to his ability to make plays after the catch.