The CMS Best - Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

The CMS Best series highlights the best players in the 20 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools in Charlotte. In this edition, we will be looking at the best Wide Receivers and Tight Ends in this group – a wide variety of skill sets and abilities here.   Tight Ends   [player_tooltip player_id='760044' first='Deangelo' last='Hall'] - Olympic   At 6'3 and 215 pounds, De'Angelo is a Class of 2025 Prospect. He currently holds offers from Charlotte, Virginia Tech, and Alabama A&M. De'Angelo excels at being a vertical receiving tight end, consistently winning matchups downfield versus linebackers and safeties in the seams and flats in the passing game. He can also excel in the popular H-Back/Move role that a lot of offenses are running today, as Olympic runs a version of that offense. He can be a powerful lead and in-line blocker and shows soft hands to catch a wide variety of pass routes. He also has enough athletic ability that he can flex out as a wide receiver as well.   [player_tooltip player_id='822247' first='William' last='Brown'] - Independence   William is a 6'1 220 pound Tight End in the Class of 2024. As I write this analysis of him, he committed to North Carolina Central University, so we wish him a major congratulations on that! What NC Central is getting out of William is a very athletic player that can line up as a normal tight end, a move/h-back player, as well as a flexed-out wide receiver in the slot. As a normal tight end, he can help seal the edge of the defense on outside run plays or be an important blocker as a part of a zone run-blocking scheme. As a move player, he can lead up on inside running plays or slip out on pass plays to the flat or corner/sail routes. When lined up in the slot, he is very good at finding the soft spots versus zone coverage and sitting down for easy catches, or running away from man coverage on drags/crossing routes. Very valuable player for the Patriots' passing attack.   Wide Receivers   [player_tooltip player_id='396831' first='Benjamin' last='Black'] - Mallard Creek   A 6'1 185 pound wide receiver, Ben is committed to play at Rutgers next season as a Class of 2024 prospect. The first thing you have to think about with Ben is just his impressive overall speed. Per his Twitter feed, he runs a 4.36 40-yard dash, so most corners will play off of him, respecting his speed. Mallard Creek did a good job of taking advantage of that by putting Ben in the quick screen game, and he excels in getting the football and exploding upfield, making him a very tough cover to gameplan for. In the red zone, he is also a threat to win jump balls 1 on 1 against corners in the end zone for touchdowns.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/DSC04105-crop-3465x2275-1691968576.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-948736" /></figure>   Dequadre Currence - Butler   I wrote about Dequadre earlier this year, and nothing has changed - as his quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id='351827' first='Zach' last='Lawrence'], continues to grow with him, they are poised to be a big-time connection together once again this season. Dequadre caught 66 passes last season for over nearly 1000 yards and ten touchdowns. At 5'10 he can play both the slot and outside receiver positions and can do work in all areas of the field. From a recruiting perspective, he has interest from multiple schools, and with another productive season, he should be starting to get on some recruiting boards and see some offers start coming his way. He is a Class of 2025 prospect.   KC Cunningham - Hopewell   Probably the most unknown name here on this list, I believe in KC a good bit - I think he is an explosive receiver that can cause a lot of problems for teams because of the number of things he can do at a high level. At 6'1 and 195 pounds, he runs a 10.9-second 100-meter dash, so his speed is definitely a major asset in his game. He can make a major difference in special teams as a kickoff and punt returner as he can get to that top speed very quickly. That also helps him do very well in the quick screen game, where he can make one defender miss and take it to the house. Finally, he shows a good ability to win jump ball situations on the outside in 1 on 1 situations. He has visited some schools, but I think a college could get a steal as he seems to be a little under the radar right now. He also has shown an ability to play outside corner as well. He is a Class of 2024 prospect.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/image-37.png" alt="" class="wp-image-948734" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='832280' first='Brody' last='Keefe'] - Myers Park   One of the amazing things you get to do in this business is see how kids can progress in their recruiting. Here's what I wrote about Brody in February of this year:   <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> The first time I saw highlights on Brody, I couldn't believe he was a high school freshman. He is advanced beyond his years at the Wide Receiver position, and he has already earned an offer from Charlotte reflective of that ability. At 6'2 and 185 pounds, Brady can highpoint the ball very well, evidenced by his abilities on the 7-on-7 off-season circuit. He can excel in the quick screen game, and he catches the ball well with his hands, and not a body catcher. He's going to be a big-time recruit before it's over for sure. <cite>Matt Morrow - Prep Redzone - February 21st, 2023</cite></blockquote>   Fast forward to now, and Brody has offers from just about every school you can think of including Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Ohio State, North Carolina, NC State, Arkansas, and Wake Forest. He has grown to 6'3 now and will be a focal point of the Myers Park offense for the next couple of years. As a Class of 2026 recruit, he will be a name we will get used to hearing a lot on Friday Nights.   [player_tooltip player_id='659048' first='Arrion' last='Concepcion'] - Chambers   The brother of former Chambers star and current NC State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, Arrion holds an NC State offer and is highly regarded as a prospect in the Class of 2025. Standing at 5'10 and 170 pounds, Arrion can excel out of the slot or at an outside receiver position. He is dangerous and electric in the quick screen game, but he can close the cushion on a corner and run past them on the deep go route very easily as well. As we have said with some of the other receivers on this list, this makes it challenging for a defense to try and shut him down. On top of that, he has strong hands and the ability to win contested catches in 1 on 1 situations. I'm excited to see him this season as Chambers has multiple threats, so he should have his opportunities to make some big things happen with the ball in his hands.

The CMS Best series highlights the best players in the 20 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools in Charlotte. In this edition, we will be looking at the best Wide Receivers and Tight Ends in this group – a wide variety of skill sets and abilities here.