CCC Recap: Winners From Clayton

Over 200 athletes took the field at Clayton High School on Saturday for the Carolinas Coaches Combine. Prep Redzone was on hand to scout during both the athletic testing and the drills portion of the event, and we plan to have plenty of content this week. Here, we're looking at a few winners from the event.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">CCC Winners</h2>   While I'm all in on the high school game, I have a background in both college and NFL Draft scouting. One of everybody's favorite draft pieces is the winners and losers. It serves no real purpose to talk about any "losers" at the high school level, so here, we're looking at some winners from Saturday.   That term is intentionally vague. It could be a player, team, position group, or something else entirely. A "winner" in this case isn't necessarily someone who <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/ccc-clayton-recap-award-winners/">won an award</a>. Instead, I'll write about guys who impressed me to the point of deserving a separate, big-picture piece, outside of the future offensive and defense breakdowns dropping early next week.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1) Hunt Warriors</h3>   Hunt has slowly improved over the years, culminating in a state-title appearance last season. The Warriors simply kept winning, putting up some eye-popping numbers in the process. The team is also young, returning most of its key players.   Several Hunt players have the production and the tape, but when they all play together (especially on the defensive line), it's hard to know if they're simply a great unit at the high school level or if those star players have individual college potential.   The answer, at least on Saturday, was a resounding yes.   Simply put, the Warriors stole the show of the combine portion of Session 2. I knew quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1953755' first='Mez' last='Harris'] was athletic, but I didn't know he was that athletic.   Harris finished in the top six among skill players in every test, running a 4.47 laser-timed 40, putting up a 29.9-inch vertical, and broad jumping 9'9", all in the top three overall. His 4.41 shuttle was sixth overall, and he finished in the top three in med ball throw (25 feet) and bench press (20 reps) among skill players. No player in any North or South Carolina Coaches Combine this season has run a sub-4.5 and benched 20 reps. In fact, only one player has run a sub-4.5 and completed 10 reps on the bench.   Harris took home camp MVP honors, but shockingly, he probably wasn't even the best tester on his team.   Defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='2108371' first='CJ' last='Dickerson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1610537' first='Randy' last='James'] put on a show in the testing portion. Dickerson didn't run the pro shuttle or 40, but had the best med ball throw of the session (32 feet) and put up 34 reps on the bench press.   I was curious about James' height, and he came in just over six feet, as expected. What I didn't expect was his 79-inch wingspan, second best among defensive linemen in attendance. Then, he put up a 4.28 shuttle and 4.58 laser-timed 40. Both of those would have been top 10 among linebackers in this year's NFL Combine.   I put those numbers into a Relative Athletic Score calculator. James' numbers are better than 68% of NFL linebackers since 1987.   Both of those guys already had the production, so seeing the athleticism to match really helps give a complete picture.   Running back [player_tooltip player_id='1970795' first='Doryan' last='Jones'] followed that up by being named the top running back in drills at the underclassmen combine. 2029 linebacker Trevorus Cooper also put up a well-balanced testing portion in the final session. Nicolas Bynum put up some really good explosiveness metrics, with a 9'8" broad jump and a 28-inch vertical.   Sometimes, a school looks to have great athletes on film, but when tested, the numbers don't excite. That's not the case for Hunt, with several athletes dominating on Saturday.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">2) Swine Valley 2A/3A Conference</h3>   Let's make Winner No. 2 an entire conference. We know there's talent in some of the smaller school conferences in the eastern part of the state, and the Swine Valley athletes showed out on Saturday.   Athletes from three of the seven schools in the conference (the only three that sent athletes) won awards on. Saturday.   Ironically, conference champion and regional runners-up James Kenan isn't included in that group.   Still, stacked up against athletes from bigger schools, the conference as a whole delivered. Midway offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='2147056' first='John' last='Williams'] was one of the most impressive offensive linemen all day, winning nearly every rep in one-on-ones and measuring in at an impressive 6'3", 295.   Wallace-Rose Hill defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='2169832' first='Adrian' last='Glover'] had an extremely productive testing session and held his own in drills, too. The rising senior hit a top speed of 21.1 miles per hour, was one of three athletes in Session 2 with a vertical jump over 30 inches, and put up the session's best pro shuttle time of 4.13.   Unsurprisingly, Princeton's running back duo put up ridiculous testing numbers. [player_tooltip player_id='1616304' first='Teo' last='McPhatter'] had a broad jump of 9'10", a vertical just under 30 inches, and an insane 3.94 pro shuttle. Fellow back [player_tooltip player_id='2140182' first='Gerell' last='Bogle'] hit 21 miles per hour on his 40, and was one of three underclassmen with a sub-2 second second half of their 40 (Bogle just beat out McPhatter there, with a 1.95-second final 20 yards, compared to McPhatter's 1.99).   Fellow Bulldog [player_tooltip player_id='2140191' first='Jarrett' last='Lee'] had a fantastic day at linebacker, taking home the award for the best at the position. He's a guy who has recently hit our radar, and who could take a big step forward on a team that needs more consistent play on the defensive side of the ball.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3) Richmond Senior Raiders</h3>   Richmond Senior might be back to where it it was in the late 2010s. Depsite losing some talent from a 9-3 team, the Raiders return a bunch, and we saw some of that talent make a statement on Saturday.   In our <a href="https://t.co/u1RbFx4INd">underclassman primer</a>, we highlighted a couple of potential standouts from Richmond Senior. [player_tooltip player_id='1687750' first='CJ' last='Covington'] backed up his potential by taking home top defensive back honors in Session 3.   He was the third Raider to win an award, joining top Session 2 running back [player_tooltip player_id='2050368' first='Chance' last='Crowder'] and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='2169841' first='Elijah' last='Ingram']. Ingram wasn't the only impressive Richmond linebacker, either. [player_tooltip player_id='1678646' first='Alijah' last='Flowers'] had a sub-4.4 pro shuttle, 28.5-inch vertical, and 9'6" broad jump.   Ingram was also a standout in the testing portion, running a 4.59 40 and having one of the best med ball throws. Crowder was one of three athletes all day to hit 10 feet on the broad jump.   Saturday was also my first time seeing offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='2168670' first='Kamel' last='Tillman'] in person. After receiving a James Madison offer earlier this week, he looked sharp in drills. He's a guy who should continue to improve, and colleges have already taken note of his talent and potential. An 83-inch wingspan doesn't hurt either.   The Raiders could be in position to have a big 2026, and I came away impressed with every Richmond athlete present on Saturday.   It's camp season, and we're coming to Charlotte on May 1 for our PRZ Exposure Camp under the lights on a Friday night. <a href="https://events.prepredzone.com/e/2214/register/exposure-series-north-carolina">Secure your spot</a> and use promo code WillHelms10 at checkout for $10 off. Think we missed someone? DM me on Twitter/X (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>) with film.

Over 200 athletes took the field at Clayton High School on Saturday for the Carolinas Coaches Combine. Prep Redzone was on hand to scout during both the athletic testing and the drills portion of the event, and we plan to have plenty of content this week. Here, we're looking at a few winners from the event.