3 Storylines to Watch in 2026

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Happy New Year from all of us at Prep Redzone. We'll have plenty of content on new rankings, all-state teams, and much more throughout the month. But today, on New Year's Day, we're looking ahead to the calendar year, with three storylines to watch in 2026 around the North Carolina high school football scene.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Storylines to Watch in 2026</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because I get to make the rules for this post, I want to touch on scouting, recruiting, and the games themselves. Hopefully, I do all three justice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Which Offensive Players Move into the Top of the 2027 Rankings?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've started looking at the 2027 rankings for a mid-January update, and right now, there will be between four and six offensive players in the top 25. Not to spoil the rankings, but we have several defensive prospects slated to move up, including Seventy-First's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1408808' first='John' last='Archer']</strong> and Palisades defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='378949' first='Nicholas' last='Rankin']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not surprising that the defense is ahead of the offense, but we're looking for some playmakers to show up in the offseason, put in the work, and impress us enough to move up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We do have a couple of offensive players slated to move up in our postseason rankings update. Crest's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154024' first='Namajay' last='Thompson']</strong> has improved his route-running to go with his elite speed and decent size. Providence athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1301243' first='Keland' last='Shelton Jr'].</strong> is listed on our site as an athlete, but will likely play receiver at the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who else could move up?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">How Will the Quarterback Dust Settle?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm always interested to see how the quarterback dominoes fall. Several intriguing quarterback battles across the state could end up as 1A-1B situations, with a clear starter and backup, or even with one of the guys transferring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>State-champion Reidsville played with multiple quarterbacks in 2025, and I wonder how things will shake out between <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149961' first='Braxton' last='Johnson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1050807' first='Tyson' last='Broadway']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Weddington is another interesting team. The Warriors lose starter <strong>Walker Powell,</strong> and only one other quarterback with any experience whatsoever is rising junior <strong>Paxton Ladner</strong>. The Warriors have an intriguing 2030 prospect in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2092873' first='Blake' last='Alsbrooks']</strong>, who threw for over 25 touchdowns without an interception in middle school this season, but he lacks high school size (He'll get there) and may not be ready.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another intriguing quarterback situation is at Ambassador Christian, where 2029 No. 1 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604676' first='Weston' last='Michalak']</strong> returns, but 2030 passer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605503' first='Jordan' last='Jenkins']</strong>, who could potentially be one of the top prospects in his class, may also factor in. Ambassador is also an independent school. Could a public school in the area end up with a major boost to its quarterback room?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, we thought all last offseason that Myers Park would roll with high-upside 2028 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1616143' first='Ryan' last='Rizzuti']</strong> before <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1953767' first='Ramir' last='Watson']</strong> won the job. Will there be a second offseason battle this year?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Which Dynasties Can Continue?</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grimsley is 60-1 in the last four seasons, but loses a superstar quarterback and a ton of other talent. Can <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1048930' first='Brody' last='Lowe']</strong> continue the winning tradition? We only have five Grimsley underclassmen ranked (2027 athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1788066' first='Makai' last='Yon']</strong>, and 2028s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1815393' first='Ty' last='Shoemake']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1046314' first='London' last='Delk']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1051029' first='Tristan' last='Wardlaw']</strong>), so it's a goal of mine to fill in our database with potential difference-makers for the Whirlies.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hough loses a lot, but retains multiple impact underclassmen, including quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='254550' first='Ethan' last='Royal']</strong> and linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='950969' first='Ryan' last='Peterson']</strong>, both top players in their positions and classes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Providence Day should be just fine defensively, but what will they do at quarterback and on the offensive line? They'll return several defensive starters, including <strong>Moses Poku Kankam</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1610603' first='Tre' last='Geathers']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1029786' first='Griff' last='Galloway']</strong>, while receivers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150380' first='Steele' last='Fletcher']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1332065' first='Ethan' last='Dempsey']</strong> also return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I think it's safe to say Tarboro will continue to run the 2A class, but we don't have many underclassmen ranked for the Vikings. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2092906' first='Carmello' last='Bullock']</strong> was an all-conference player, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2092909' first='Antonio' last='Draughn']</strong> looks like the next star running back. We know they'll reload, but I'll need to dig into their roster in an attempt to be proactive in rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Several other elite schools will need to reload as well. We know they will, even if some of the names are so far unknown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>We have plenty of coverage throughout the year on the classes of 2027-2030. Want to send this to a friend? Promo code Helms30 will give them 30% off their first billing cycle.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->