Top 50 of 2025: Breaking Down the Top 10

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We just dropped our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/top-50-of-2025/">Top 50 of 2025</a> (Click the link for a detailed breakdown of the criteria), and we've been breaking down why every player is on the list. We've finally reached the top 10, where we're looking at the guys who told the story of the 2025 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other Breakdowns:<br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/top-50-of-2025-state-champions-highlight-no-41-50/">41-50</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/top-50-of-2025-recruiting-heavyweights-litter-no-31-40/">31-40</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/top-50-of-2025-impact-defenders-fill-no-21-30/">21-30</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/top-50-of-2025-seven-classifications-represented-in-no-11-20/">11-20</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top 50 of 2025: No. 1-10</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10) [player_tooltip player_id='1687459' first='Reginald' last='Gray']</strong>, QB, Northside-Jacksonville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Without context, Gray's numbers look great, but at the same time, this is a top 10 slot. But that context is monumentally important. Gray's 3,000 total yards and 37 total touchdowns came for an Northside-Jacksonville team—the same Northside-Jacksonville team that had won six total games since 2020. There were some flashes last season, but Gray and the rest of the Monarchs were fantastic, given the recent woes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9) [player_tooltip player_id='254550' first='Ethan' last='Royal']</strong>, QB, Hough</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Royal's pure numbers won't turn heads, but he's a Power Four prospect at the quarterback position, and every time Hough needed a play in the clutch this season, it was Royal who delivered. He won multiple games with late scores, especially with his legs. He blew the state championship game open late with a 70-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, to go with a pretty touchdown pass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8) [player_tooltip player_id='1607779' first='Jaxon' last='Dollar']</strong>, TE, East Lincoln</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dollar had one of the best seasons by a tight end in state history, with over 1,100 yards and 20 touchdowns for East Lincoln. Even in a playoff loss to eventual 5A champion Crest, Dollar was a tough cover. He played well defensively as well and was one of the bigger stock-risers in our rankings, moving up to the top spot in our 2027 rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7) [player_tooltip player_id='1243204' first='Aiden' last='Smalls']</strong>, QB, Clayton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smalls decommitted from Rice, which had offered him as a quarterback, and committed to NC State as an athlete. However, he had an incredible senior season as both a runner and a thrower. He had one of the best single-game performances of the season in the Regional Final against Cardinal Gibbons, putting up over 175 yards each on the ground and through the air, leading a go-ahead touchdown drive in the waning minutes to secure Clayton's first state championship appearance in nearly 40 years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6) [player_tooltip player_id='1868481' first='Evan' last='Burroughs']</strong>, WR/DB, Watauga</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of amazing single-game performances, few can challenge Burroughs' state championship performance. Burroughs caught 14 passes, had nearly 200 total yards, and picked off two passes—returning one for a touchdown—scoring five touchdowns in the first half. It was an all-time performance to cap a 10-interception, 1,300-receiving-yard season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5) [player_tooltip player_id='1099168' first='Lan' last='Farmer']</strong>, QB, Shelby</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're getting a lot of all-time playoff performances as we count down, which helps explain why these guys are so high on the list. Farmer and Shelby took a couple of games to really click, but the passing game was elite all season. He finished with a 10-touchdown performance in the highest-scoring high school championship game in state history. He finished his Shelby career with 152 total touchdowns and over 10,000 passing yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Also See:&nbsp;<a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/12/top-uncommitted-2026-quarterbacks/">Top Uncommitted 2026 QBs</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4) [player_tooltip player_id='896157' first='Zaid' last='Lott']</strong>, QB, Providence Day</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lott checks in as the top quarterback on the list, and while he didn't land atop many statistical leaderboards, his season was nearly flawless. By my count, he only played two second halves, still throwing for 2,500 yards and accounting for 48 total touchdowns with just four turnovers. He was the vocal leader of one of the best teams in the state during a season in which Providence Day dominated all of its competition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3) [player_tooltip player_id='1604514' first='JJ' last='Gulat']</strong>, RB, Dixon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gulat is the only player in the Top 7 who didn't play in a state championship, but he had at least 220 yards and multiple touchdowns in every game during his senior season. Dixon often played in shootouts in which Gulat was a true workhorse. He ran for almost 3,500 yards, threw for another 340 and two touchdowns, and scored 43 times, even against loaded boxes. Week after week, he put up ridiculous numbers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2) [player_tooltip player_id='869974' first='Dionte' last='Neal']</strong>, Ath., Reidsville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Any list of the greatest athletes in North Carolina high school history that doesn't have Neal on it is a flawed list. He capped a sparkling, multi-sport career with some of the best football of his life. Playing as a receiver, running back, and Wildcat quarterback, Neal's playoff outings included a 136-yard, two-touchdown rushing game, a 270-yard, three-touchdown receiving game, and a 223-yard, three-touchdown championship game with a fumble recovery and interception on defense. In between those? He led a game-winning field goal drive as a Wildcat quarterback, then picked off a pass to seal the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1) [player_tooltip player_id='1368098' first='Tyreek' last='Copper']</strong>, WR, Kinston</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Only Copper tops Neal on our list. It has to be that way after Copper set multiple state records as a senior. He set the record with 17-straight games with a receiving touchdown, broke a long-standing single-season yardage mark (2,245), and with three touchdowns in the 3A State Championship, set the single-season record with 33 touchdown catches. That mark was the best in the country in 2025. When people think of the 2025 season, Copper will be at the top.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Make sure to follow <a href="https://x.com/PrepRedzoneNC">@PrepRedzoneNC</a> for the latest on camp coverage, rankings updates, and more.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->