2027 Rankings: What's Next?

In the craziness of the season, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/north-carolina/rankings/2027-rankings/">postseason rankings updates</a>, and a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/friday-recruiting-rundown-floodgates-opened/">wild week of recruiting</a>, it's been a while since I've given a big-picture breakdown of where we are in the recruiting cycle. We've moved from the senior class to focus on the classes of 2027, 2028, and even 2029, but what now? Here, I'm charting the path forward, looking at what's next in our 2027 rankings cycle.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Next Steps for the Class of 2027</h2>   As I mentioned in my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/behind-the-scenes-of-the-2027-rankings-january-update/">Behind the Scenes</a> piece when we released this rankings update a couple of weeks ago, this January update was largely focused on production over potential. When evaluating players, we consider both.   For example, a 5'5", 110-pound running back probably won't rank in the top 10 in his high school class, even if he runs for 2,000 yards. Conversely, a 6'6", 250-pound edge rusher won't make the top of the rankings if he doesn't have at least a handful of sacks.   But they don't get applied equally throughout the year. Immediately exiting the season, we're focused on production. We just saw hundreds of games; who proved they belonged? That's why we saw players like [player_tooltip player_id='1607782' first='Aury' last='Greenfield'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1614576' first='Jackson' last='Heavner'] fly up the rankings. In a camp setting, neither is going to turn heads based purely on size. But under the lights, they shine.   Now, we'll turn our attention to potential. Sure, there are probably some players we missed throughout the season who will pop up on the radar, but the majority of our time will be spent evaluating players who didn't land in the top 10 of many statistical categories. Many will impress us in camps. Others will come up via conversations with high school coaches.   And yes, some will pop up via the recruiting trail. For example, I'd stumbled across [player_tooltip player_id='2111283' first='Christian' last='Cepeda']'s name a couple of times, but I haven't had time to dig into the film. He earned his first offer last week from Campbell. He won't automatically jump in the rankings, but that offer pushed him to the top of my list of guys to evaluate. From the handful of clips I've seen in the last couple of days, I wouldn't be surprised to see him debut inside the top 150 next update.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">What's Next For the 2027 Players?</h3>   The spring is an opportunity for players to get on our (and college coaches') radar. In the past, we've seen 2027 players put themselves on our radar before the production came, either from seeing them in camps or practice. Tight end [player_tooltip player_id='668611' first='Drew' last='Easter'] had a strong camp a few years ago that put him squarely inside the top 100 before the offers came.   Palisades quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='525514' first='Cole' last='Hough'] put on two fantastic camp showings before he became a starter. In fact, he wowed with his arm strength before he'd ever thrown a varsity pass at South Meck. Now one of the top returning starters in the Charlotte area, he has the production to match that potential.   It wouldn't surprise us to see a few highly athletic players wow us this spring. Perhaps Fairmont's [player_tooltip player_id='1685581' first='Tariq' last='Leggett'] or [player_tooltip player_id='1718784' first='Phoenix' last='Barnes']?   Here's my prospect camp soapbox: Don't go to camps just to say you went to camps. You (as a prospect) need eyeballs, reps, and recovery.   If you're hitting a camp every week from February to July, you're going to both spend too much money and get hurt. If you spend more time standing than participating at a camp (either due to too many players or too few reps), you're not gaining anything. And if you're going to a camp that doesn't get you in front of at least a few college coaches, it won't be worth it.   Second, 2027s should send film out to coaches and scouts. Both college coaches and scouts have more time in the offseason to truly evaluate film.   Last year, our now No. 44 overall player in the 2027 class, [player_tooltip player_id='1617737' first='King' last='Kalama'], reached out on Twitter. We ended up writing about him in March as part of a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/03/community-film-room-episode-3-2/">Community Film Room</a> piece, being impressed, but having no idea that he'd soon earn a multitude of Power Four offers over the next few months.   All told, we added 16 players to our rankings last spring via Community Film Room outreach. The point being, players can land on our radar in a variety of ways, and sometimes it just takes a bit of marketing.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">What's Next for the Prep Redzone Scouts?</h3>   On our end, we create our content schedule in the spring to maximize the number of new players we can evaluate.   We're sprinkling <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/unsung-heroes-big-east-5a-6a/">Unsung Heroes</a> in with our rankings content. While some of the mentioned players have been ranked for a while, we're averaging about 3-4 new players per conference in those pieces. Usually, when we write about players who pop up on our radar, we add them to the rankings. (Matt Morrow has written some fantastic <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/unsung-heroes-gaston-county/">Unsung Heroes</a> pieces about several areas around Charlotte).   We'll update rankings for the 2028 and 2029 classes throughout February before doing our annual watchlist review in March. While we're usually pretty good at moving worthy players off the watchlist and into the rankings, we miss some guys. In March, we'll watch film, talk to coaches, and re-evaluate every player on our watch lists.   Then, in April, it's camp season before we jump into our annual Deep Dives. In those, we go county by county to rank the top players at every position. In the past, we've hit most of the counties in the Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte areas. This year, we'll add Deep Dives on the Triad, and potentially elsewhere in the Tar Heel State.   Last year, we added dozens of players from those Deep Dives, including risers like [player_tooltip player_id='1661632' first='Ta'Shaun' last='Walker'], [player_tooltip player_id='1607055' first='Ryyan' last='Coley'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1727145' first='Isaac' last='Barefoot']. This year, we'll likely get a good look at a bunch of other prospects.   Basically, don't be worried. We'll evaluate hundreds of players over the next few months.   This is the time of year when we have the most time to dive into film, reevaluate prospects, and change our minds about players. Send your film on Twitter/X (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>), so I can evaluate you. Want to share Prep Redzone with a friend? Promo Code Helms30 is good for 30% off your first billing cycle.

In the craziness of the season, postseason rankings updates, and a wild week of recruiting, it's been a while since I've given a big-picture breakdown of where we are in the recruiting cycle. We've moved from the senior class to focus on the classes of 2027, 2028, and even 2029, but what now? Here, I'm charting the path forward, looking at what's next in our 2027 rankings cycle.