Winter Stock-Risers: 2028 Athletes

We're onto Week 2 of our latest rankings update. Last week, we released our updated <a href="https://prepredzone.com/north-carolina/rankings/2028-rankings/">2028 class rankings</a>, and we've been churning out content since then. As always, I went behind the scenes of the update and then wrote about the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/3-things-to-know-about-the-2028-class/">class as a whole</a>. This week, we looked at all the defenders who rose in the rankings. The final thing is to look at the two-way players. Here are our 2028 athlete stock-risers.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2028 Athlete Stock-Risers</h2>    Barze can absolutely fly, and he can score from anywhere on the field. I'm willing to bet only a handful of players across the country had touchdowns longer than 85 yards on both sides of the ball like Barze had last season. He's one of our biggest stock-risers of the cycle, and we're interested to see where he'll spend the majority of his time for Mallard Creek after transferring in this offseason.     A true jitterbug of a receiver, Clark has homerun speed, and he's slippery with the ball in his hands. Defensively, he's a ballhawk, with eight career interceptions in 18 games between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Clark has grown a bit over the last few months, and we don't expect him to stay at his current size forever. Still, he's electric with the ball in his hands, and as a defensive back.     Gray hit our radar first as a receiver when he was a freshman, then moved to quarterback for his sophomore season and helped orchestrate one of the best seasons in recent school history. He was one of our Player of the Year candidates after throwing for over 2,600 yards, adding 11 touchdowns, and almost 400 yards on the ground.     Booth continues to grow, both in stature and as a player, and it's making him a highly sought-after two-way athlete. He didn't have extraordinarily high volume on either side of the ball, but he had four touchdowns on just 13 catches as a receiver and racked up 30 tackles and three takeaways defensively. His length and speed give him great upside on either side of the ball.     Sherrod isn't the biggest guy, but he's a workout warrior who should get bigger over the next couple of seasons. He did a little bit of everything for Piedmont, picking off three passes, recovering two fumbles, and scoring three non-offensive touchdowns as a sophomore. He's an occasional running back as well, but we like his contributions on special teams and as a defensive back the most.     Woodburn likely profiles as a full-time linebacker in our rankings after transferring into Robinson and primarily playing at that position in 2025. He was a tackling machine for the Bulldogs last season, with over 100 tackles and eight sacks as a versatile defender. He can play as an off-ball linebacker, occasional edge rusher, and play both safety positions, and the athletic profile means he's going to be a hot commodity on the recruiting trail.    There's plenty to come from Matt Morrow, Joshua Graham, and me on the 2028 rankings before we release our updated 2029 rankings next week. Stay locked in with Prep Redzone for more insights, evaluations, and rankings updates. Want to share Prep Redzone with a friend? Promo code Helms30 will get them 30% off their first billing cycle for any subscription.

We're onto Week 2 of our latest rankings update. Last week, we released our updated 2028 class rankings, and we've been churning out content since then. As always, I went behind the scenes of the update and then wrote about the class as a whole. This week, we looked at all the defenders who rose in the rankings. The final thing is to look at the two-way players. Here are our 2028 athlete stock-risers.