3 Things I Learned From RDU Deep Dives

After 43 Deep Dives, 339 unique player mentions, 275 full evaluations, and nearly 30,000 words, our RDU Deep Dives series has come to an end. This one was big enough that I think it deserves a final look. Here, I'm going behind the scenes, giving fans some insight into my thought process and sharing some things I learned in the process.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Did I Learn From RDU Deep Dives?</h2>   Editor's Note: In case you wanted to go back and see any of our Deep Dives, I'll link all 43 of them at the bottom of this page. Second, as the calendar turns, we're looking to camp season. Want to showcase your talent in front of college coaches and support the work we do at Prep Redzone? Our next PRZNC combine is May 1 in Charlotte. <a href="https://events.prepredzone.com/e/2214/register/exposure-series-north-carolina">Register here</a> and use Promo Code WillHelms10 at checkout for $10 off.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1) Area "Hot Spots"</h3>   We obviously know that certain areas of the state have more talent than others. We also know that while that talent tends to center around bigger metro areas with bigger schools, there are "hot spots" with a bunch of talent outside of the big cities, loaded with talent at specific positions.   However, it's often hard to identify those particular hot spots without really, well, deep diving. There were counties and positions where I initially expected to struggle to get to five players, and instead, I struggled to limit the rankings to seven or eight. The Franklin/Nash/Wilson receiver group, for example, is impressively deep.   [player_tooltip player_id='1953543' first='DJ' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1953798' first='Darryl' last='Loatman'] are two of the best overall players in the area, key contributors for their respective teams, who barely made the Top Five in an elite receiver group. We find this when we do All-Conference or something similar. Sometimes there are positions where a high-upside, low-production guy can sneak in, and other times we're fighting to put a guy with 800 yards or 75 tackles on a list.   Also See: <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/top-10-specialists-in-the-triangle/">Top 10 Specialists in the Triangle</a>   The Johnston/Harnett County defensive backs group was similar. [player_tooltip player_id='1646236' first='Malachi' last='Burt'] has an early FBS offer, and that group was so deep that he didn't make the top six. In Wake County, usually deeper with three times as many schools to choose from, Burt would've been a top-five corner with ease. The depth of that position in Johnston and Harnett County, specifically at Clayton and Cleveland, is impressive.   Finally, while it's the biggest county in the area, Wake County still deserves recognition for the depth of offensive line talent. Often in the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/top-5-ol-in-alamance-chatham-lee-county/">offensive line deep dives</a>, I spend a couple of hours poring over grainy Hudl film, hoping schools have updated rosters, and getting creative to get to my self-imposed five-player minimum. With Wake County, though, I spent an hour trying to figure out which future Power Four starter to leave out of the rankings.   Between [player_tooltip player_id='2072220' first='Amir' last='Daniels'], [player_tooltip player_id='2110441' first='Zamir' last='Jackson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='548207' first='Grayson' last='Williams'] (among others), the 2028 and 2029 classes are loaded at the position. The fun thing about that group as a whole is that there are likely six or seven future Power Four recruits, and yet, several future Division II and FCS guys ranked right there with them. Smaller guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1137826' first='Andrew' last='Jaynes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1604115' first='James' last='Han'] are absolute maulers in the middle and deserve their high rankings.   Future stock-riser [player_tooltip player_id='1607759' first='Malek' last='Griffin'] could get Power Four interest later in the process, as I was blown away by his junior film.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">2) Talent is More Spread Out</h3>   Just one year ago, I started RDU Deep Dives with five counties (Wake, Johnston/Harnett, Durham/Orange) and most of the talent centered around a handful of schools. Around half of Wake County's top players in the rankings came from Cardinal Gibbons, Millbrook, and Rolesville. Johnston/Harnett County was full of players from Clayton and Cleveland, while Durham/Orange County was dominated by Jordan and Southern Durham.   For the most part, that makes sense. There are valid reasons for that. Those are the best teams, so it makes sense that they'd have the most ranked players. But this season, while you'll find plenty of players from those seven schools, dozens of other schools put multiple players on the list.   Also See: <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/top-10-two-way-athletes-in-the-triangle/">Top 10 Athletes in the Triangle</a>   Part of that is because in my second go at Deep Dives, I was able to dive deeper. Our database is deeper, and so is my contact list. I also used new techniques to find more impact players. Basically, I'm a bit better at this experiment in Year 2.   But there's also more talent to go around. Middle Creek exploded onto the scene last year and put nine players on the Wake County list this year. A couple of Mustangs made the list last year and in hindsight, maybe I missed one or two more, but guys like Conner Smith, [player_tooltip player_id='2077458' first='Mark' last='Smith'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2005255' first='Jayden' last='Barnes'] burst onto the scene as first-time varsity starters.   On the Durham/Orange list, we simply saw a more even distribution of top talent. If my count is correct, every school in those counties (public and private) put at least two players into the positional rankings. Even some of the less successful teams in the area have quality talent that ranks among the area's best. 1-9 Cedar Ridge had two defenders ([player_tooltip player_id='1675176' first='Landon' last='Walker'], Julian Provost) not only make their positional ranking list, but Walker topped the edge position.   Also See: <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/way-too-early-7a-top-10/">Way-Too-Early 7A Top 10</a>   Overall, we had players from all eight public school classes, multiple private school classes, [player_tooltip player_id='1857986' first='Lawrence' last='Muldrow'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1634611' first='Eric' last='George'] from independent Mt. Zion, and even multiple 8-man players ([player_tooltip player_id='1925976' first='Cennoth' last='Kalisiak'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2005526' first='Maddox' last='Laws']).   I expect some parity in the area during the actual season in 2026.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3) College Potential vs. High School Production</h3>   Ah, the age-old scouting tension between college potential and high school production. It's actually really fun to balance the two when I do rankings.   Our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/north-carolina/rankings/2027-rankings/">class player rankings</a> on the site reflect college potential, so we're projecting future talent. That means that production is one part of a larger equation.   When we post a Deep Dive, we largely ignore our college projections. Sure, there's some overlap, and a lot of the top-ranked guys in a Deep Dive are highly ranked on the site. But there are also plenty of examples of a lower-ranked player earning a higher spot in a Deep Dive. The aforementioned <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/top-8-ol-in-wake-county/">Wake County OL Deep Dive</a> is one example. Elsewhere, [player_tooltip player_id='2151396' first='Bryson' last='Hinton'] was the top Johnston/Harnett defensive lineman despite not being ranked at the time of publication.   Some are obvious. Top Alamance/Lee/Chatham offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='2149073' first='Hasan' last='Miller'] is 5'8" and around 250 pounds. Top Franklin/Nash/Lee County offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1608329' first='Oscar' last='Riggle'] is even smaller. But I dare you to find two better high school linemen in the area. They're obvious All-Conference selections, even without elite physical profiles.   Conversely, Rolesville's [player_tooltip player_id='2113400' first='Manny' last='Miller'] has the chance to be elite. Still, without much varsity experience, he sits behind more seasoned players, many of whom won't ever crack the top half of their class rankings.   We talk a ton about college potential, but Deep Dives let me highlight guys with lower ceilings who can still put on a Friday night show. That's part of the reason I love them.   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.

After 43 Deep Dives, 339 unique player mentions, 275 full evaluations, and nearly 30,000 words, our RDU Deep Dives series has come to an end. This one was big enough that I think it deserves a final look. Here, I'm going behind the scenes, giving fans some insight into my thought process and sharing some things I learned in the process.