8 Players To Watch at the Bull City Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's the final weekend of the preseason and we've got some great scrimmages and jamborees happening around the state. While I'm not yet sure if I'll be make the drive up to Durham to cover the Bull City Classic in person, the games look great and I want to preview it for anybody heading out there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bull City Classic features four matchups: Riverside-Wakefield, New Bern-Rolesville, South Garner-Hillside, and Southern Durham-Millbrook. So, it's only fitting that I give one player per team that I'm interested to see.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players To Watch at the Bull City Classic</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick note: when I write pieces like this, I like to define my parameters both to give readers more context and to make sure I'm not misconstrued. Here, I'm writing about players I'm personally interested in seeing. There's plenty of talent in this one, but I'm not simply taking the top prospect on each team and using them. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The guys here could be in a position battle, have some intrigue from the offseason, need to be scouted further in person, or they could simply be a player I'm interested in seeing. Since it's the week before the season, I'd anticipate key stars like Millbrook's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='651173' first='Quinton' last='Cypher']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1553113' first='Rashad' last='Streets']</strong> or other future Power Four guys to be on a strict snap count. I might mention a few extra players for each team, but I'm going to focus on one player each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Riverside Pirates</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1667016' first='Taylen' last='Lea']</strong>, WR</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Riverside-Durham loses a ton after a 4-6 season, including its quarterback and top two receivers, with two of those three leaving via transfer. There's a void to be filled on the outside and I'm intrigued to know if the speedy Lea can step up. He's a high-I.Q. receiver with speed on the outside, and while I'm not sure what the running game will look like, Lea can deliver explosive plays from the receiver position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Wakefield Wolverines</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='651120' first='Cooper' last='Pleasants']</strong>, QB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Riverside, Wakefield loses a lot of production off a team that struggled some last season. The Wolverines never really settled a season-long quarterback battle and lose their best receiver to transfer this offseason. However, two quarterback graduations might actually simplify things for the Wolverines, as Pleasants has had an entire offseason as the presumed guy. He's fearless in the pocket and I'm interested to see what Wakefield can build by investing in a junior signal-caller.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">New Bern Bears</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1092153' first='Terrance' last='McCormick']</strong>, Ath.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm interested to see McCormick--who we've had ranked as a defensive back despite the fact that he plays almost exclusively on offense--perform live. He's electric, with a sub-4.5 40, and while he probably doesn't have the size to play quarterback at the next level, he played there for the Bears last year, putting up impressive numbers as a sophomore. I'm just interested to see him play, regardless of where he plays. Maybe I'll get closer to figuring out where he's best suited to play at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Rolesville Rams</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Caleb Keaney</strong>, WR</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This isn't just Kearney, but the Rolesville receiving corps in general. We have five receivers ranked and we think highly of a number of them. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='832437' first='Gavin' last='Waddell']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1222913' first='Anthony' last='Roberts']</strong> are very likely the headliners, but where do <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1337937' first='Dylan' last='Martin']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1192754' first='Caden' last='Jones']</strong>, and Kearney fall in the pecking order. Kearney already has a couple of early offers and the Palisades transfer has tue FBS talent. Will he be the third option to emerge on a loaded offense?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">South Garner Titans</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='651090' first='Devin' last='Shoulars']</strong>, QB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one's easy. On a team loaded with talent and needing an offensive leader, the supremely talented Shoulars is slated to step in as the starter. Physically, he's as impressive an athlete as you'll find, with size, speed and arm talent. But, he's unproven and a bit raw as a passer. I'm told the staff is happy with his offseason progress, so I want to see a glimpse of what we might expect to see from the junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Hillside Hornets</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1656591' first='Tre' last='Belcher']</strong>, QB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillside brings in two transfers from Riverside and I'm most intrigued to see what Belcher can do to an offense with plenty of talent. Last year, there were several great individual performances from players returning this year, but the offense was inconsistent. I think Belcher could bring some stability, but I don't really know how Hillside plans to use him this season. For one, I'm not sure he's completely locked up the spot, as athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1656584' first='Xavier' last='Stevenson']</strong> led the offense well, especially as a runner last season. I think Belcher will allow Stevenson to hold a playmaking role without having to drop back and throw, but I just don't know yet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Southern Durham Spartans</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607799' first='Kamari' last='Holloway']</strong>, RB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Similar to Hillside, Holloway is the face of a bigger interest of mine. Southern Durham has one of the most potent (and balanced) offensive attacks in the state and I want to see it against a proven juggernaut defensively. Holloway ran for over 1,000 yards on under 100 carries last season (One of just two or three players in the state to do that, to my knowledge) and I want to see if he can do it against Millbrook's ridiculous defensive front. I could say the same about <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1050807' first='Tyson' last='Broadway']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1217496' first='Jonathan' last='Dillon']</strong> as well here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Millbrook Wildcats</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1640434' first='Malachi' last='Thomas']</strong>, WR</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Similar to Rolesville, we have five receivers from Millbrook ranked, with two of them transferring in after establishing themselves at other schools. The Cleveland transfer Thomas and former Wakefield star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402303' first='Taden' last='Martin']</strong> both have extensive track records of success, but I don't know exactly how they fit on this offense. Last year, Millbrook ran a weird two-quarterback system, but it's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='485965' first='Bryson' last='Gray']'s</strong> team now and if last week's scrimmage was any indication, the Wildcats are going to air it out. Returner <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='423992' first='Malachi' last='Gilchrist']</strong> may have shown that he's still the main guy, but he has some more pass-catching talent around him and I think the 6'4" Thomas could thrive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->