Deep Dives: 704 Metro Area Wide Receivers

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 wide receivers 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!    Thompson is a game-breaking receiver who excels attacking at all levels of the field on the outside. You can see he is dangerous and dynamic in the screen game, getting the ball and getting north and south quickly with excellent speed and vision. On downfield routes, he can close a cushion quickly on a defensive back and run past them and create tons of separation in a short period of time. Those skills have him #1 in our rankings here, and a ton of college football programs are vying for his commitment right now. Thompson's latest offers have come from Auburn, North Carolina, NC State, and Florida. Thompson is also starting to take official visits, and most recently completed a visit to Alabama. Yes, he's that good.     Marcus had an incredible statistical season last year that I don't think a lot of people in the Charlotte area were aware of. 69 catches for 1,131 yards and 18 touchdowns are some remarkable numbers. What makes it even more impressive is that opposing defenses knew he was the guy to stop, and Marcus still was able to consistently produce week in and week out. Marcus wins consistently against 1 on 1 coverage against defensive backs with both speed and vertical ability to high point the football. College football programs have taken notice of this ability as well as Marcus has received recent offers from Ohio, Old Dominion, Army, Navy, Buffalo, and Ke     Xavier is a player I've seen up close on a couple of occasions, and seeing him physically progress into a Division 1 wide receiver prospect over his first two years has been a fun thing to watch. As Xavier has grown physically, he's done a great job of focusing on his fundamentals and tying it together with his excellent physical talent. His route running is fluid, and he has consistent hands plucking the football out of the air. Xavier does a really good job making contested catches in 1 on 1 coverage, and has a ton of upside he hasn't reached just yet. College football programs are taking notice, with Xavier picking up his first two Division 1 offers from Boston College and East Carolina respectively. This will be a big summer from a camps and recruiting perspective, and I'm excited to see the next step in Xavier's progression in his career.     As I wrote back in a previous article, Chanse has a big opportunity to breakout in a big way in the Mooresville offense this upcoming season. Chanse produced good numbers last season in an offense that had a lot of proven targets and college-level talent. A lot of that talent has graduated, but Chanse returns as a proven player that can get it done in the passing game. Chanse has excellent speed and agility with the football in his hands, and he can get it done as a screen threat, or down the field as a deep threat using both of those athletic skills to his advantage. Chanse has recently picked up his first offer from Old Dominion, and is receiving interest from multiple other college football programs as well.     Immanuel has done a great job being a consistent downfield threat for a talented Shelby Golden Lions squad throughout his career. Immanuel is a relentless worker at his craft, which is just about as impressive as what he does between the lines on Friday Nights. Immanuel has excellent speed, and shows this not only as a receiver, but also as a returner on special teams. Immanuel's production has been consistent, and it comes from excellent route running and knowing how to get open against a variety of coverages the Golden Lions see to try and slow down their potent passing attack. Immanuel is starting to get recognition from college football programs as well, picking up his first offer from Gardner-Webb University recently.    Honorable Mentions   [player_tooltip player_id='1421082' first='RJ' last='Lynch'] - Lincolnton Andre Ramseur - Mountain Island [player_tooltip player_id='1276945' first='Sione' last='Latimore'] - Cox Mill Davis Beam - East Lincoln [player_tooltip player_id='2002837' first='Noah' last='Jacobsen'] - Lake Norman Analysis   Out of this group, [player_tooltip player_id='1421082' first='RJ' last='Lynch'] is an extremely productive player, he is really a gamebreaker for Lincolnton who came up one game short of making the state championship game last year. Andre Ramseur Jr played quarterback last season out of necessity for Mountain Island, but his speed and playmaking ability is electric as a receiver, and I think that's his best position on the next level.   [player_tooltip player_id='1276945' first='Sione' last='Latimore'] has shown excellent improvement and broke out big time in the 2nd half of the season last year, and I think he's on the cusp of becoming a legitimate college football recruit. Davis Beam is the talented son of a coach, and he put up good numbers for a talented East Lincoln team last season. He knows how to get in and out of his routes and has reliable hands. [player_tooltip player_id='2002837' first='Noah' last='Jacobsen'] is a player that has flown under the radar in the area, but he runs excellent routes and knows how to get open consistently in the Lake Norman offense.   Obrian Lockhart - Hunter Huss [player_tooltip player_id='1429512' first='Tyler' last='Morgan'] - Ashbrook [player_tooltip player_id='1614576' first='Jackson' last='Heavner'] - Cherryville [player_tooltip player_id='1678619' first='Dominik' last='Danzy'] - West Stanly Tyson Vandyke - JM Robinson Jason Bonds - East Rowan JJ Williams - Shelby Analysis   Obrian Lockhart is a dynamic player that will be added to our state rankings in our next update. He can be explosive in space, in all phases of the game. [player_tooltip player_id='1429512' first='Tyler' last='Morgan'] is a big receiver that can dominate smaller corners in 1 on 1 coverage. He figures to have a big season for Ashbrook. [player_tooltip player_id='1614576' first='Jackson' last='Heavner'] is a main go-to player for the Ironmen down in Cherryville, who had their best season in years this past season.   [player_tooltip player_id='1678619' first='Dominik' last='Danzy'] at West Stanly was another player who played quarterback for his team out of necessity, but his skill at wide receiver is strong. He has excellent footwork and ties that with good speed running his routes. Tyson Vandyke at JM Robinson had some productive moments last season for the Bulldogs, and he's got the chance this upcoming season to be their leading receiver on another good team. Jason Bonds is a player who had some big games last year, and the Mustangs do a good job of getting him in space in their downfield passing game. He's got good hands and route running skills overall.JJ Williams from Shelby had a nice productive season for the Golden Lions, and brings another speed element to the offense. He forms a nice tandem with the aforementioned Collins and can be a threat in the quick screen game.

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!