North Carolina Recruiting Rundown: July 25

<!-- 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. While things are starting to slow down a bit as players turn their attention to the upcoming high school season, there's still plenty to get to. We'll never spoil an athletes announcement, but we do want to give information where we can.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">July 25 Recruiting Rundown</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Most of our top players in the 2025 class have made their commitments to college programs, but there are plenty of players who are only beginning to earn offers. A flurry of verbals went out this week, and there's plenty of other recruiting to get into.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was a ton of movement in the FCS and D-II ranks this week to break down, so let's get to it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Battle For Non-Power Four Supremacy in North Carolina</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Notre Dame, NC State, North Carolina, and South Carolina battle to land the most prospects from North Carolina among the Power Four, there's an interesting competition brewing at the lower levels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Appalachian State and East Carolina are battling it out for the lead at the Group of Five level, as the Mountaineers hold a slim lead (6-to-5). I'll have more this week breaking down that competition, and while there wasn't much movement on that front during this past week, it's something worth noting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the FCS and Division-II ranks, this competition just got much more interesting. Elon held a dominant lead, but three teams made runs this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the FCS level, Gardner-Webb picked up two commitments: high-upside Garner safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1718578' first='Maddox' last='McDowell']</strong>, a guy who's intriguing blend of length and speed makes him a candidate to take a huge step forward in the coming years, and one of our favorite receiver prospects, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1148569' first='Ethan' last='Driver']</strong>, a guy we have ranked much closer to the Group of Five level than FCS level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They join Crest defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1671947' first='Donovan' last='Walton']</strong> on Gardner-Webb's in-state commitment list.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of my favorite RDU defenders committed to Campbell, putting them in the race to sign the most in-state players. Middle Creek edge rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1663952' first='Davis' last='Prichard']</strong> was a bit of a late bloomer compared to some other guys, but it's hard to argue anyone has had a stronger offseason. He dominated at our Prep Redzone Camp, but we weren't unique in that distinction, as he picked up offers all over as he attended college camps. He pledged to Campbell Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southeast Raleigh linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1159917' first='Robert' last='McCullough']</strong> is currently ranked just inside our top 100 as the 12th-best linebacker in the state. He has great size and speed and some positional versatility, a great get for the Camels on Wednesday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those two give the Camels five in-state commits, joining Mallard Creek's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338729' first='Khalil' last='Price']</strong>, Purnell Swett OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1368119' first='Hunter' last='Clark']</strong>, and high-upside Hickory defensive tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1110030' first='Rahshad' last='Swinton']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, a Division-II team is rolling on the trail. There haven't been many pledges to that level yet. In fact, it's hard to find any non-Lenoir-Ryne Division II commits in the state, though I may have missed a couple.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is completely unsurprising to me that Stuart Cramer's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='904263' first='Chris' last='Wurster']</strong> became the first Division-II commit in the state's 2026 cycle when he pledged to Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday. A consistent rankings riser for us, we felt confident giving him a high-Division II evaluation, knowing that his playing style wouldn't be for everyone, but also knowing that a team or two would fall in love and do everything to land him. It looks like Lenoir-Rhyne was that team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bears then doubled down, landing another high-upside player from Charlotte, Palisades offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600466' first='Jamaare' last='Williams']</strong>. The huge offensive lineman has the traits to be a standout pass-blocking tackle at the next level. We actually have him above some guys getting Division I and even FBS interest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">More Offers Go Out To RDU Players</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were several offers that went out to players this week, including several in the Raleigh area. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1730599' first='Ezekiel' last='Stokes']</strong>, an impressive safety who I just wrote about earlier this week, earned an offer from Livingstone College. C.E. Jordan teammate <strong>MJ Young</strong> also earned a Livingstone offer earlier this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Apex offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1305417' first='Brady' last='Mathews']</strong> has been hot on the recruiting trail and earned another high-academic offer from the University of Chicago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other News and Notes</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a busy week in terms in other ways as well. Here are some things you may have missed:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rising Hough sophomore edge/linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1046790' first='Brayden' last='Hunt']</strong> earned his first offer from Wingate. He's a guy we're really high on and think with a big year he could see the offers start to roll.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Asheville offensive lineman <strong>Lliam Phillips</strong> also earned an offer Wingate on Sunday.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Northern Guilford WR <strong>Greyson Council</strong> earned an offer from Livingstone College a week after earning an offer from Mars Hill.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>A.L. Brown edge rusher <strong>Tucker Farabee</strong> earned his first offer from Washington &amp; Lee.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High-profile edge rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607067' first='Andrew' last='Rogers']</strong> reclassified to the class of 2026 from the 2027 class. The now rising senior had 23 sacks last season for Dudley and appears to be nearing his college decision. A top-25 player in the 2027 class, he joins a loaded group of edge rushers in the 2026 class.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Did I miss something? Let me know on Twitter (@whelms21).</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->