Deep Dive: Durham/Orange County Safeties

We've nearly finished our deep dives into the top players by county in the Raleigh-Durham area, a project that has been really fun for me to undertake. We've reached the secondary, and although we typically combine corners and safeties for the purpose of rankings, I'm separating them for this exercise.   First up, the corners. Who makes our list of the top Durham/Orange County CBs?   Past Durham/Orange County Deep Dives   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="http://quarterbacks/">Quarterbacks</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/deep-dive-durham-orange-county-rbs/">Running Backs</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/deep-dive-durham-orange-county-wrs/">Wide Receivers</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/deep-dive-durham-orange-county-ol/">Offensive Line</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/06/durham-orange-county-deep-dive-idls/">Interior Defensive Line</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/07/durham-orange-county-deep-dive-edge-rushers/">Edge Rushers</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/07/durham-orange-county-deep-dive-lbs/">Linebackers</a></li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Cornerbacks</li> </ul>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top 5 Durham/Orange County Safeties</h2>    It feels like Henderson has been at Southern Durham for several years, and yet he's just a rising junior, one with extremely high upside. He played mostly as a single-high free safety, but he'd often flex out to the slot against three-receiver sets and has the athletic ability to play off-man. He's physical, probably more than you'd expect from a guy with his size-speed profile and that's an area of his game that suggests he could probably play more in the box, or in press coverage.     A South Wake transfer, I'm interested to see how Pannell fits in on a loaded Southern Durham secondary, but he's far too talented to keep off the field. He has elite size and speed, which he used to pick off 10 passes last season. He's likely one of the fastest safeties in the state and he played both ways last season, putting up over 500 total yards on offense as well. If he works out at the 7A level, he's primed for a huge jump in the rankings.     Stokes just doesn't make many mistakes and given the defensive line talent at C.E. Jordan, that's a key trait. He's a guy who can make an impact both in the running game and in the passing game, where he picked off two passes a season ago. Now a seasoned veteran, Jordan will rely even more heavily on his presence on the back end.     Hargraves is a high-level zone free safety who can play Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3, or quarters and he commands his area well. He has the acceleration to make impressive breaks on the ball, often jumping routes as the quarterback mistakenly tries to fit balls in tight windows. He's just a sophomore and should grow as a run defender in the next two years.     Before I watch film on someone for the first time, I try to get some background information to frame what I'm watching. And honestly, I did not expect to be as impressed with Bridges' film as I was. He has true D1 size and can play multiple positions on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he scored while aligned as a quarterback, running back, tight end, and receiver and on defense, he's a solid center field free safety with the ability to come down and deliver big hits.    Want to send this to someone who doesn't subscribe? Promo code Helms30 will get them 30% off their first billing cycle.

We've nearly finished our deep dives into the top players by county in the Raleigh-Durham area, a project that has been really fun for me to undertake. We've reached the secondary, and although we typically combine corners and safeties for the purpose of rankings, I'm separating them for this exercise.