Deep Dive Rankings: Mecklenburg County Athletes

<!-- 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 athletes in Mecklenburg County, listed in ranking order. The Top 5 will get a detailed breakdown, then the other players will get a summarized analysis. <br><br>This is our last breakdown for Mecklenburg County. Stay tuned for breakdowns on the 704 Metro Area coming from me next! This will include counties adjacent to and close to Mecklenburg County, including Gaston, Cleveland, Union, Iredell, and Cabarrus counties. If there are talented players at respective positions in neighboring counties as well, they will be considered, such as Stanly, Lincoln, or Rowan counties. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["378926"],"_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-69bf68fc355ff"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Davion has moved over to Hough High School for his senior season, leaving West Charlotte High School after establishing himself as one of the top athletes in the state of North Carolina. Davion is being recruited primarily as a defensive back, but still shows the ability to make some special plays with the ball in his hands on offense as a wide receiver. As a defensive back, Davion has elite instincts from the safety position and has made several highlight plays showing excellent range in coverage. Davion also doesn't shy away from contact, making several big hits throughout the years in both run support and pass coverage. From a recruiting perspective, Davion is making some visits now - most recently Clemson. Davion has also received recent offers from Oklahoma, Missouri, and Miami. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1301243"],"_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-69bf68fc356a8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It has been widely believed that Keland has moved over to Chambers High School for his senior season, as he was on a recent visit to Missouri, and was wearing Chambers High School gear. This would be a major change, and I would expect Keland to definitely be impacting both sides of the ball at Chambers. That being said, Keland can play almost anywhere on defense, but it appears schools are recruiting him as a defensive back prospect currently. Keland is a dynamic wide receiver offensively and can be an impact returner on special teams as well. As mentioned earlier, Keland is starting to take some visits with Missouri and Wake Forest being the most recent. Missouri State, Army, and Georgia State have been the most recent offers for Keland. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1239187"],"_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-69bf68fc35725"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Caleb is another high-level prospect who has seen his recruiting really take off. He is also starting to take visits to college football programs, with the most recent being to Tennessee. Before that, Caleb visited Kentucky and Florida. Coming up will be visits to Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State. Caleb was a first-team All-Conference and All-State selection for his play last season, producing 97 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and an interception on the year. Caleb's athleticism allows him to impact all three levels of the defense. I've got him in the athlete category because I've seen him play running back, and I think he would be a high-level recruit at that position, also if he needed to play it for the Chargers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["378949"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":2155839,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","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-69bf68fc357a3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nick has been the do-it-all guy for the Pumas for the past couple of years, playing running back, wide receiver, quarterback, and defensive back for Palisades as they have become a consistent winning program on the southside of Charlotte. Nick's athleticism, speed, and agility led him to another All-Conference season and an impact playmaker in not only the city of Charlotte, but the state of North Carolina as well. Nick has started to take some recruiting visits - most notably to Liberty and Coastal Carolina. Nick currently has offers from Old Dominion, Charlotte, Gardner-Webb, Liberty, Georgia Southern, Delaware, Miami (Ohio), East Carolina, and Troy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1610634"],"_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-69bf68fc3581e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">As I said before, Kenyan is probably the most talented player in Charlotte; a lot of people don't know about him when you think about the top players in the city. Kenyan has recently been offered by both Charlotte and North Carolina Central, while having current offers from Coastal Carolina and East Carolina. Kenyan is primarily a hybrid linebacker/defensive back, but he showed his receiving skills last season with a game-winning catch to defeat Central Cabarrus on the road, winning a jump ball in 1-on-1 coverage, so it may be something we see more of from him in his senior year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Honorable Mentions<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='897764' first='Bryant' last='White']</strong> - North Mecklenburg<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1060044' first='Kingston' last='Curry']</strong> - Country Day<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687738' first='Tyrell' last='Barze']</strong> - Mallard Creek<br><strong>Miles Vanderspuy - Hopewell<br>Lucas Culberson</strong> - Butler <br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1788171' first='Jaquavion' last='Gaffney']</strong> - Harding<br><strong>Xavier Lopez-Cruz</strong> - South Mecklenburg<br><strong>Zack Albert </strong>- Community School of Davidson<br><strong>Daniel Carter III</strong> - Harding<br><strong>Daiquan Bowman</strong> - West Charlotte<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607889' first='Emory' last='McClain Jr']</strong> - West Charlotte </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Analysis </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a lot of important and talented players here. [player_tooltip player_id='897764' first='Bryant' last='White'], as I've said before, is one of my favorite safeties in the state of North Carolina. He also looks good as a contributor as a wide receiver in the Vikings' offensive scheme. [player_tooltip player_id='1060044' first='Kingston' last='Curry'] is bouncing back from a tough injury last season, but don't forget about him. He was a high-level prospect in terms of production on both offense and defense in his last healthy season, showing elite speed and athleticism as a wide receiver and a defensive back. [player_tooltip player_id='1687738' first='Tyrell' last='Barze'] - if he were a future stock, I would buy heavily right now in him. I watched him be dominant in a camp/showcase setting and on the field live last season at Rocky River as a running back and defensive back. Moving over to Mallard Creek, it appears he will focus on defense, but he's one of the best athletes in the state with his speed and overall athletic ability. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miles Vanderspuy from Hopewell did a little bit of everything last season - and he just was productive no matter where he lined up on offense or defense for the Titans. I probably like him best as an offensive playmaker at running back or wide receiver; positive things just happen with the football in his hands. [player_tooltip player_id='1788171' first='Jaquavion' last='Gaffney'] is a long, athletic player who can have an impact at wide receiver or outside linebacker for the Rams. I also included his teammate Daniel Carter III, who at 6'4 and 190 pounds, can be an impact player offensively as a receiver or a linebacker himself. He will probably be added to our rankings in the next update.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xavier Lopez-Cruz and Zack Albert are two players who have impacts for their respective teams as receivers and defensive backs. Albert probably did in an overall more productive way last season, but his athleticism and natural instincts allow him to be successful no matter where he's lined up. I'm expecting Lopez-Cruz to have a bigger impact for the Sabres this upcoming season, as they lost some productive players on both sides of the ball. To finish this up, two players from West Charlotte - [player_tooltip player_id='1607889' first='Emory' last='McClain Jr'] and Daiquan Bowman - figure to have big roles for the Lions this upcoming season. With players leaving the program, it means some big shoes to fill, and opportunities present themselves. While Emory has primarily been a running back, and Daiquan an All-Conference linebacker, more could be put on these talented players' plates. In the case of Bowman, he's been a steady producer kind of behind the scenes with the bigger names around him. However, now he has a chance to really be front and center as the leader of the Lions' defense. McClain Jr is looking to break out for his senior season and be a player that West Charlotte can lean on offensively for consistent production. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->