July 4 Recruiting Rundown: D1 Dead Period Divides Summer

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we've been in the midst of rankings updates, we haven't done much on the recruiting side of things. While we're first and foremost a scouting service, we also want to provide relevant recruiting content when we can.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While we never spoil an athlete's commitment, we do pick up nuggets here and there. In the early summer, there's been a flurry of commitments and offers from across the state. There's a ton of movement happening behind the scenes and the next month should be *quite* busy. Here, I'm recapping recent recruiting news from across the state to start the month of July.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">July 4 Recruiting Rundown</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early summer is a time of evaluations, offers, and ultimately commitments (and some decommitments). A few high-profile athletes are approaching commitment dates and seeing out the end of their recruitments. Here, I'll break some of those announcements, offers, and schedules down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Catawba College Becoming Active</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While it's a dead period for Division 1 schools, July is an incredibly active month for D2/D3 schools. Not only can those schools continue to host prospects, but with most in-person evaluations complete for D1s by July, the smaller schools can begin to see which talented players aren't getting the traction at the Division 1 level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Accordingly, we saw several D2s step in with offers and Catawba <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/06/catawba-camp-offered-players/">sent out several</a> after their June 27th Friday Night Lights Camp (Matt Morrow broke down 20 top performers in his camp recap, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/07/20-players-to-know-from-the-catawba-camp/">found here</a>.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are plenty of examples here of high-quality players finally getting some of the recognition from colleges that they deserve. Mount Pleasant offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1194747' first='Brandon' last='Bevilacqua']</strong>, for example, is a clear D1 prospect on our board, yet Catawba stepped in with an offer and secured his commitment shortly thereafter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bevilacqua wasn't the only guy in the trenches to receive an offer, as East Forsyth defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1671991' first='Omaryon' last='Hayes']</strong> and Southlake Christian two-way lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1671904' first='Hunter' last='Tedder']</strong> also earned offers. Defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1368143' first='Zamarius' last='Gladden']</strong> and our top quarterback, West Charlotte passer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1321007' first='Jamouri' last='Nichols']</strong> each earned offers as well, as did JM Robinson RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1332096' first='LJ' last='Watson']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Indians also offered Cape Fear kicker <a href="https://x.com/FranciscoG48389/photo"></a><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1703669' first='Francisco' last='Garcia Rodriguez']</strong>, a consistent and accurate kicker with a big leg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">ACC Teams Finally Heating Up in NC</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unless you're going to count quasi-member Notre Dame, the ACC has really struggled in North Carolina this cycle, as only North Carolina and Clemson had multiple commitments in the 2026 class from the Tar Heel State until last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, a slew of commitments in favor of ACC powers came in last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last Saturday, Clayton defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165755' first='Keshawn' last='Stancil']</strong> announced his commitment to Clemson. That came two days after Hough receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='945238' first='Tyran' last='Evans'] </strong>committed to Miami (FL) after recently decommitting from Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Duke got in on the action, adding their second in-state commit to a solid national class after athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157260' first='KD' last='Cotton']</strong> announced his commitment to the Blue Devils. One of our favorite edge rushers in a dominant edge class, Southeast Raleigh's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='648670' first='Keysaun' last='Eleazer']</strong> committed to Stanford, choosing a high-academic option amidst several academically-elite finalists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, earlier on July 4, his Southeast Raleigh teammate, 2027 RB/Ath. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='378921' first='Christian' last='Freeman']</strong> issued an early commitment to NC State, becoming the first player in our rising junior class to publicly commit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other News &amp; Notes</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a list of some new offers and other news and notes:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Former Charlotte Christian athlete/WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='974827' first='LJ' last='Porter']</strong> announced his transfer to Hough</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Myers Park 2027 offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607856' first='Joseph' last='Meyer']</strong> earned an early offer from North Carolina Central, his first offer</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Last week, Rolesville TE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='832422' first='Davis' last='Brown']</strong> committed to FIU.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hillside athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1667013' first='Erick' last='Bonner']</strong> received an offer from Winston Salem State.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Apex interior offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1305417' first='Brady' last='Mathews']</strong> earned an offer from Washington and Lee.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>New Charlotte Catholic QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600193' first='Logan' last='Misocky']</strong> earned an offer from Denison College.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Want to make sure we include you in our updates? Reach out on Twitter (@whelms21) to make sure we hear all the news and notes from across the state. Want to send this article to someone who isn't a subscriber? Offer code Helms30 will get them 30% off their first billing cycle.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->