Deep Dives: 704 Metro Area Offensive Linemen

We are continuing our Deep Dive Series, now branching out to the surrounding counties outside of Charlotte, known as the 704 Metro Area! We are looking at players specifically in Cleveland, Gaston, Union, Cabarrus, and Iredell counties. If we have a special player in another adjacent county - such as Stanly, Lincoln, or Rowan - they will be eligible for inclusion in this ranking also!   We will keep it going with the offensive linemen in the 704 Metro Area, and we will follow the same setup as we did for Mecklenburg County: The top five players will get their own individual breakdown, while our remaining players will get a summarized analysis of their abilities. Let's get started!    We recently wrote about Bryce on our 704 Junior Bowl team; he's a dominant center who's a two-time All-Conference selection, and he's been one of the best offensive linemen in the area consistently for a while now. An update on Bryce recruiting-wise - he's recently received offers from Elon, Army, Memphis, Campbell, and Tulane. The Warriors will have a new starting quarterback for the 3rd season in a row, but they'll feel comfortable behind center with big Bryce leading the way for them.     Tee has been one of the hottest recruits in North Carolina lately. A lot of schools are after Tee because of his size at 6'5, and the athletic profile at 240 + pounds. When I see Tee on film, the way he moves at that size is very impressive. He's got future left tackle written all over him, in my opinion, on the college level. Officially, Tee lists himself as an athlete on his Twitter profile, but I think offensive line is his best future position. Since January, Tee has received offers from Wake Forest, Charlotte, Liberty, Louisville, Old Dominion, NC State, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, and South Carolina. Wow!     I'll tell you this - there's nothing more that we like to do at Prep Redzone North Carolina than add unranked players right into ranked positions in our rankings updates. Sammy has shown exponential improvement in his game on the field, and I think he will be included in our next rankings update for that reason, for sure. Sammy was an All-Conference selection last season, and the strength of his game is the impressive power he plays with in the running game, married with excellent footwork from his left tackle position. Since January, Sammy has picked up offers from Charlotte, Liberty, Campbell, Marshall, East Carolina, and Memphis. Impressive stuff!     I've seen Landon up close, and the exciting thing about him is the athleticism he's shown in space in a showcase setting. That's important because playing in a run-heavy offense like South Point, you don't always get to show your full skill set as an offensive lineman. Landon has excellent size at 6'4 and 275 pounds, and still has another two years of high school to continue to get stronger and grow physically. As you would expect, he's a mauler in the running game already from his interior offensive line position. Landon also does a good job in pass protection against defensive tackles, not allowing them to push the pocket with their pass rush.     I recently named Nick to the 704 Junior Bowl team because of his natural talent to play both sides of the offensive line and the center position. But Nick also has some excellent size at 6'5 and 295 pounds. He also moves very well, playing tackle at that size and excelling in both pass protection and run blocking at a high level. I'm happy for Nick because he's starting to see some college interest come his way from multiple football programs. Nick recently visited Furman and Davidson per his Twitter profile, and with his reported 4.69 GPA, I'd expect a number of schools to continue to come calling going into his senior year.    Honorable Mentions   [player_tooltip player_id='1678628' first='Mason' last='Holt'] - Mooresville [player_tooltip player_id='772855' first='Samarion' last='Dawkins'] - Kings Mountain [player_tooltip player_id='1607805' first='Gavin' last='Passino'] - Hickory Ridge [player_tooltip player_id='2117497' first='Gage' last='Camp'] - Burns [player_tooltip player_id='2112033' first='Kasper' last='McCarty'] - Cox Mill   Analysis   Mooresville has a good offensive line, and I think Mason is the best individually of the bunch right now. I've liked him for the last two years because of the physicality he plays with at the tackle spot, and he's shown some real improvement athletically so far this offseason. [player_tooltip player_id='772855' first='Samarion' last='Dawkins'] was a first-team All-Conference selection last season whose done nothing but continue to get better every year so far in his career. He has impressed at some camps so far this offseason, and I hope to see him up close soon. [player_tooltip player_id='1607805' first='Gavin' last='Passino'] has a great motor and impresses in the running game. I think Gavin gets "hat and hands" well, form fitting his blocks and moving defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage in a good way. I saw [player_tooltip player_id='2117497' first='Gage' last='Camp'] up close on multiple occasions last year, and he's got the footwork, strength, and mentality to be a dominant offensive lineman. Gage has some college interest, and it's only a matter of time before some offers come his way. [player_tooltip player_id='2112033' first='Kasper' last='McCarty'] looks really good on film. He was named an All-Conference player at his left tackle spot last season, and his pass protection helped his quarterback play well, last season too!   [player_tooltip player_id='1815331' first='Graylon' last='Koontz'] - Kings Mountain [player_tooltip player_id='2112023' first='Jorden' last='Bryson'] - Central Cabarrus Anthony Smith - Stuart Cramer Beau Harrill - Burns   [player_tooltip player_id='1815331' first='Graylon' last='Koontz'] is a strong center prospect who still has two years to go, and I thought he showed some nice things as a sophomore. Graylon showed on film that he can pull and trap in short spaces, and he's a big run blocker coming off the ball who likes to play to the echo of the whistle. [player_tooltip player_id='2112023' first='Jorden' last='Bryson'] is a player on the rise - he's a powerful run blocker who loves to finish blocks and set the tone for his team at the line of scrimmage. Both Anthony Smith and Beau Harrill were All-Conference selections for their respective teams. Smith is a big and strong interior offensive lineman who just moves the defensive line consistently in the running game. Beau Harrill is a technically sound player up front who consistently paves the way for a dominant running game for the Bulldogs.

We are continuing our Deep Dive Series, now branching out to the surrounding counties outside of Charlotte, known as the 704 Metro Area! We are looking at players specifically in Cleveland, Gaston, Union, Cabarrus, and Iredell counties. If we have a special player in another adjacent county - such as Stanly, Lincoln, or Rowan - they will be eligible for inclusion in this ranking also!