Deep Dive Rankings: Mecklenburg County Defensive Backs

<!-- 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 defensive backs in Mecklenburg County, listed in ranking order. The Top 5 will get a detailed breakdown, then the other players will get a summarized analysis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1422524"],"_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-69bf365b981c1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I said a lot about Josh recently in our 704 Junior Bowl series, so we'll take a look at how he fits in the Huskies defense. It's really about as seamless as a fit can get, as they recently had a true high-level shutdown corner in [player_tooltip player_id='284097' first='Samari' last='Matthews']. Expect Josh to own the outside against opposing teams' top receivers, and I expect teams to try to throw away from him as much as possible. Josh is lining up a number of official visits from a recruiting perspective, notably South Carolina and LSU, per his Twitter profile. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1259782"],"_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-69bf365b98275"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nate is one of the most talented corners in the state, and his talent has him #2 in our rankings here. Teams rarely went against Nate last season, and he still was able to produce a couple of interceptions and multiple pass breakups on only 11 passes thrown at him all year. Nate absolutely excels in man coverage with excellent agility and burst out of his breaks on the football. Nate also played some offense at receiver and showed his speed and hands with 16 catches for 220 yards on the season. From a recruiting perspective, Nate is racking up a ton of offers with SMU, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas, Virginia Tech, Charlotte, Texas A&amp;M, Miami, and Auburn all offering him so far this calendar year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1610603"],"_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-69bf365b982f5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Like with some of our other selections, I recently analyzed Tre in our Junior Bowl series. He will be a big piece of the Providence Day defense, returning a ton of starters in their defense of the NCISAA state championship. Tre recently received an offer from Michigan, and is going on some junior day and unofficial visits to several different schools - notably NC State and Vanderbilt most recently. Tre's versatility to play as a DB closer to the line of scrimmage, or a linebacker with excellent cover and tackling skills, makes him a valuable prospect to a lot of college football programs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1608315"],"_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-69bf365b98375"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Moses can play almost anywhere on defense for a program, and that versatility and talent have him #4 in our rankings here. Moses has excellent size and moves very fluidly for a defensive back/linebacker/strong safety prospect. I wrote about Moses in detail recently, but he's got a lot of recruiting interest from college football programs. Most recently, Moses received an offer from Rutgers and has standing offers from multiple Division 1 college football programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1788073"],"_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-69bf365b983f1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Since we last wrote about Jackson with his inclusion on the 704 Junior Bowl team, he has seen exponential increases in his recruiting prospects from college football programs. In the month of March so far, Jackson has received offers from Memphis, Coastal Carolina, and North Carolina Central to go along with previous offers from Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wofford, East Carolina, Charlotte, Florida International, and North Carolina A&amp;T. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Honorable Mentions</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1678640' first='Xyaire' last='Brown']</strong> - North Mecklenburg <br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607867' first='Kameron' last='Guy']</strong> - Myers Park<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1114103' first='Jymel' last='Green']</strong> - Chambers<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1616141' first='Jonah' last='Holloway']</strong> - Hough<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1654531' first='Jalen' last='Rhyne']</strong> - Olympic<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1004079' first='Marley' last='Vincent']</strong> - Chambers<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1310418' first='Austin' last='Roberts']</strong> - Providence <br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1301268' first='Mackenzee' last='Coates']</strong> - Ardrey Kell<br><br>Analysis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1678640' first='Xyaire' last='Brown'] is probably one of the fastest overall players in the state, and he will probably contribute some on offense this upcoming season. But as a defensive back, he excels in man coverage and can run with anyone in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='1607867' first='Kameron' last='Guy'] has really picked up a lot of interest from a recruiting perspective, picking up recent offers from Charlotte, North Carolina A&amp;T, Elon, and North Carolina Central, all in 2026's first 3 months so far. [player_tooltip player_id='1114103' first='Jymel' last='Green'] is one of, if not our best, defensive backs in the 2029 class, and he's made some impact on the varsity level already early in his career. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1616141' first='Jonah' last='Holloway'] made some big plays in the secondary on the Huskies' state championship run this past season. He continues the Hough tradition of talented defensive backs who play fundamentally sound, with excellent athletic talent to match. [player_tooltip player_id='1654531' first='Jalen' last='Rhyne'] is a confident player who has shown some strong improvement this offseason, per multiple reports I've received. I'm excited to see him soon, hopefully in a camp/showcase setting. Both [player_tooltip player_id='1004079' first='Marley' last='Vincent'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1310418' first='Austin' last='Roberts'] are players I've seen up close multiple times, and are coming off of good junior campaigns, and are both hoping to see that translate into recruiting interest from college football programs sooner than later. [player_tooltip player_id='1301268' first='Mackenzee' last='Coates'] is a long and athletic corner who shows very good speed on the track, and it translates onto the field consistently. He is starting to see interest from college football programs pick up, and I think it will only be a matter of time before that translates to offers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->