North Carolina July 11 Recruiting Rundown:

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's Friday, which means it's time for our recurring recruiting rundown. 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 11 Recruiting Rundown</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday evening will be a huge night for the top of our 2026 rankings. Only four of our top 21 players in the 2026 class remain uncommitted and by Friday evening, three of them will be off the board.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First, at 5:30 p.m., Independence defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402298' first='Nick' last='Reddish']</strong> will announce his commitment from a quartet of out-of-state schools, including two potential favorites that are no strangers to recruiting the Tar Heel State. Will Reddish choose Wisconsin, Indiana, Notre Dame, or Virginia Tech. The latter two seem to be at the top and a Notre Dame pledge would give the Irish four of the top 21 players in North Carolina, a potentially surprising clubhouse leader for the most NC commits among Power Four schools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That is, unless South Carolina can land one or two of the other guys announcing Friday night. At 6 p.m., East Forsyth offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1080916' first='Jabian' last='Shabazz']</strong> will announce from a trio of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio State. All three teams have recruited him well, but are the Vols the favorites? They jumped in later than the others, only offering in February, but have put on the full-court press and could secure his commitment. But Ohio State and South Carolina remain firmly in the mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, Hough defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='284097' first='Samari' last='Matthews']</strong>, the No. 2 player in our 2026 rankings is set to announce between Texas, South Carolina, Miami (FL), and Florida State. Recently, it's been a two-horse race between the Longhorns and Gamecocks and the Longhorns have had some recent confidence. Matthews has one of the most well-managed recruiting brands in the state, so could that be a factor? He also cares deeply for relationships. Which staff has the connections needed to secure the commitment of a potential Day 1 starter?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our own Matt Morrow will be on site for Matthews' commitment and we'll have the details and coverage of that event later Friday evening.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">First Offers Go Out</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of our favorite things at Prep Redzone is when we see a player we've covered for years finally earn his first offer. Few players have put in the work on the field, in the classroom, and on the recruiting trail that Franklinton linebacker/defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854270' first='Jonathan' last='Manson']</strong> has put in and that <em>finally</em> paid off with an offer from Wisconsin Lutheran in Milwaukee. It's the first offer for the high-academic candidate, but likely not his last.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/JonathanManso12/status/1942981538188271677","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JonathanManso12/status/1942981538188271677 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Mecklenburg defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1707774' first='Frankie' last='Williams']</strong> also received his <a href="https://x.com/FrankWilliamsI6/status/1941485217631567907">first offer</a>, a verbal from Minot State in North Dakota. He's a guy who has the physical tools to blow up on the recruiting trail with a strong senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Providence Day interior defensive lineman and high-academic student <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1707785' first='Hudson' last='Clavin']</strong> earned an offer from Washington and Lee, according to <a href="https://x.com/HudsonClavin/status/1943111855146438683">his Twitter</a>. He's a guy whose film we want to further dig into and we're excited to see what he can do as a senior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other News and Notes</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Top-ranked 2028 wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='651159' first='Braylon' last='Clark']</strong> of Charlotte Country Day received another SEC offer, this time from Missouri.</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 two scholarship offers and a third football offer (as of this writing) in the past week. Trinity College and Bentley University stepped in with offers while the Bowdoin College staff offered him the equivalent of a football offer (As a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, Bowdoin can't offer football scholarships). That's one of the most academically prestigious offers an athlete can get.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Dudley linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1393063' first='Robert' last='McCollum']</strong>, who just recently exploded onto our radar, earned his first offer from Syracuse.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Northern Guilford athlete <strong>Arimeeh Mack</strong> earned an offer from North Carolina A&amp;T.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Wake Forest RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1707809' first='Micah' last='Olu']</strong> earned his third offer, this one from Campbell.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->