2025 Watch List: 5 Up and Coming QB’s
In this article:
North Carolina is not always known for their QB prospects, but there tends to be talented players that come out every few years. Because of this, it makes it even more exciting to track the younger talent in the state,…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingNorth Carolina is not always known for their QB prospects, but there tends to be talented players that come out every few years. Because of this, it makes it even more exciting to track the younger talent in the state, and follow their progression as the years go by. Below, we took some time to go through some of the top 2025 QB prospect’s tape, as they are already more talented than people may expect at this stage of their high school career
Jordan Bryant- Overhills
Bryant’s athleticism is one of the most attractive features to his game, and we believe that as he continues to develop, it will certainly turn into an even bigger strength for him. To start, he has decent arm strength, and an evident ability to make plays with his legs. His arm talent is also very noticeable, allowing him to make certain intermediate throws at his age more easily than most kids his age manages to do. He certainly has a high level of up and coming talent, but we would like to see him improve in his overall football, stance in the pocket, and the consistency in his throwing mechanics. If he can continue to learn how to hone this in 2022, he will see more attention in the immediate future.
Jared Lockhart Jared Lockhart 6'4" | 175 lbs | QB Porter Ridge | 2025 State NC – West Mecklenburg
At this point of his progression, Lockhart is definitely a bit more of a raw player, but he has plenty of potential to be one of the better QB’s that the state has to offer within the next few years. To start, he has decent arm strength, and throws well when on the move. He plants his feet well when making athletic passes on the run, and appears to have good footwork in the pocket. Lockhart has also shown the ability to scan the field, and read the defense- while we do think he would need to improve his timing in doing so. In addition to this, he also has a great amount of speed to his game, which makes it harder for defenders to read his every move. Next season, look for him to improve upon his total passing yards, and the 8 TD’s he tossed in 2021.
DeAndre Nance DeAndre Nance 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB Seventy-First | 2025 State NC – Seventy-First
Nance may be one of the more athletically gifted, and faster QB’s on this list. As a Freshman, he displayed an ability to escape the pocket, gain great yards, and also create space for receivers when he is on the move. He may not have the strongest arm, but he has decent ball placement on short routes, but will need to speed up his timing on some of his passes. Nance also has decent arm strength, which predominantly translates to bigger plays for his team. Going into next year, look for Nance to work on his mechanics, and fundamentals, as this will help take his game to the next level, and help him to add on to the 9 TD’s he threw last year.
Jeremiah Alford- North Rowan
Watching Alford play football can almost seem to be a privilege due to the potential that he has in his future. To start, while he may have choppy feet at times, he seems to play with decent footwork, and pocket presence. This only helps him to get the ball out more cleanly. Alford also does a great job of placing the ball accurately in intermediate and short routes, thus making for good completions. In addition to this, one may also notice that he has a strong arm, and appears to get the ball out on schedule, which will certainly help him in his progressions once he gets older.
Okie Edwards- Greene Central
While Okie may not have the highest trajectory out of the players that made this list, we still feel that he has plenty of good things ahead of him in the future. As a Freshman, he saw plenty of snaps, and made a big difference for his offense, being one of the key reasons for any offensive success they had. When first watching his tape, the first thing that stands out is his athleticism and ability to get the ball out from different arm angles. While this fact alone, as well as the way he releases the ball can be very raw, he displays the ability to place the ball well. At times, he may float the ball, but he has a decent deep ball, and we look forward to seeing how he progresses in the future.