Will’s Week 1 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At Prep Redzone, we try to cover as many players as we can. Sometimes that means highlighting guys with huge numbers and other times it means focusing on quieter, but still impressive performances. Matt Morrow did an awesome job earlier highlighting some of his <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/08/week-1-stars-of-the-state-offensive-edition/">Stars of the State for Week 1</a>. In similar fashion, here are my weekly standouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Will's Weekly Standouts</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='935584' first='Kenneth' last='Dula IV'], DB/WR, Jordan-Matthews</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dula will probably never find his way onto many defensive leaderboards because to land on those as a defensive back the other team actually has to look your way. After allowing just one catch last year, Dula allowed a boring 0 receptions on 0 targets Friday, though he did have an interception overturned and changed to a sack. It was easier to see Dula's offensive impact Friday, as he caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1238396' first='Ben' last='Young III'], RB, St. David's</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Young is our highest-rated 8-man player in the state and he showed why Friday, with a 200-plus yard outing in a 38-14 win. Young's vision and burst translate to any level of football and as he continues to put on more weight, he should garner some recruiting interest. Young is must-see and flies way under the radar at St. David's.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='205617' first='Luke' last='Faulkner'], LB/RB, Southern Nash</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you follow my work, you'll know how hesitant I am to list a player at two positions, but Faulkner can play both linebacker and running back and showed it Friday. He racked up 12 tackles, including three for loss on defense and 88 yards on 13 touches offensively. Faulkner has great size and he's a guy I think could thrive at an FCS school.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1122961' first='Shannon' last='Wingate Jr']., RB, North Lincoln</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you ever get the chance to watch Wingate, please do, as he could be a teaching tape for pad level and contact balance. He racked up 233 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 1 win, showing once again why he's one of the most underrated running backs in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='396922' first='Braeden' last='Barger'], LB, Weddington</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were over 10 Power Four prospects in the Weddington-Providence Day game and yet Barger was arguably the best player on the field. He was all over the field and was one of the primary reasons the Warrior defense was impenetrable. He's added a ton of muscle in the offseason after being undersized last year and that should really help convince some bigger schools to pull the trigger.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1203823' first='Daniel' last='Ray'], Edge, South Columbus</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ray has won with pure size and athleticism over smaller guys in his career and as a senior, he's really starting to become a complete football player. He had a 60-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown on Friday and was a menace off the edge. There might still be some untapped tight end potential here, but he looks like an edge rusher to me. I'm intrigued to watch his development as a few transfers have made it difficult to follow a linear progression, and he's a guy I'm watching intently.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1407506' first='Kyle' last='Mosley'], WR, Lake Norman</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I almost put Mosley in my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/08/week-1-high-school-breakouts/">Week 1 Breakouts</a> article, but listed him here instead. Mosley showed his big-play potential with 155 yards on just five catches, displaying a huge catch radius and solid speed on the outside. I'm unashamed to say he wasn't in our rankings before, because this truly was a performance out of nowhere. If he can string together a few performances like this, college coaches will be flocking to Lake Norman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->