Deep Dive Rankings: Charlotte Metro Area Tight Ends

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of my favorite series of the year is the Deep Dives, where we at Prep Redzone North Carolina start going into counties or areas across the state of North Carolina, and ranking talent by specific positions in those areas. My colleague Will Helms has already done a great job in starting his rankings in the Raleigh area, and I will start in Mecklenburg County in the immediate area of Charlotte, then branch out from there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will miss some players here and there, and a lot of our evaluation is based on production, film, offers from college football programs, and the existing Prep Redzone North Carolina rankings. If you feel you should be included, be sure to let us know! This article will feature the top tight ends in the Charlotte Metro Area, listed in ranking order. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1607810"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69ac4b03de6b4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Picking up recent offers from South Florida, Georgia Southern, and East Carolina in the last month, Qualteau is definitely on a lot of college football programs' radars at the moment. He is coming off of an All-Conference season where he had 26 catches for an impressive 602 yards and 9 touchdowns in a run-first offense with the Storm. He also played a lot on defense at the EDGE spot, reflective of his athleticism. On defense, he had 4 sacks and 22 quarterback hurries and was an impact player on both sides of the ball. That level of production put him on our 704 Junior Bowl team, and it earned him the #1 spot in this ranking. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1608324"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69ac4b03de743"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Troy has grown physically to 6'5 and 230 pounds per his Twitter profile, and that kind of size always attracts the attention of college football programs. Since the end of the season, Troy has received offers from East Carolina, Ball State, and Campbell, respectively. Troy has excellent athleticism and speed to get down the seams of the defense, and a high catch radius to go with his overall strength and speed. He's been impressive in 7 on 7's and has good film, which has him at #2 in our rankings here. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1815391"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69ac4b03de7b7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Shane is another good-looking prospect physically, here at 6'4 and 235 pounds. He had an All-Conference season last year where the Trojans got him the ball in a variety of ways - crossing routes, screens, down the seam - and Shane looked very athletic in space, running away from defenders for big plays and touchdowns. College football programs have already taken notice as well, as he has offers from East Carolina, Marshall, Charlotte, and Liberty already in his young career. There is a high ceiling here for Shane for sure. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1125763"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69ac4b03de824"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Coming off of an All-Conference season with 36 catches and 6 touchdowns, Alex has developed into the difference-maker type of player I thought he could be when I saw him dominate junior varsity games a couple of years ago in person. He's got an excellent physical frame at 6'5 and 230 pounds, and can split out wide and dominate against smaller defensive backs in space. He's got an 80-inch wingspan for a huge catch radius on top of that as well. College football programs are starting to take notice now, as Alex has picked up offers from Campbell, Coastal Carolina, and Columbia in the past few weeks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["718315"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69ac4b03de8ba"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">If you want a pure 3-down tight end, Hudson may be your best bet overall out of this group. He does a lot for the Pumas offense as an H-Back/Move player, an in-line blocker, and a matchup problem in the vertical passing game. Last season, Hudson was an all-conference player who contributed on special teams on top of all of those offensive responsibilities, a nice value-add for a program that's not talked about much. After a 26-catch season last year, Hudson has a chance to really improve on those numbers this year and make an even bigger impact for the Pumas. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->