Cleaves was a high-profile receiver at Cox Mill, but after transferring to Mooresville, he moved to defensive back for the first time in his career. He’s raw, but we see the vision and think he could be one of the most athletic defensive backs at the FCS or even Group of Five level. He has sub-4.4 speed and excellent length for his height.

Jordan has continued to be an explosive receiver and a dynamic returner on Special Teams. The thing that I love is he is seeing some Power 4 interest now as he has gone on a couple of visits. I think he should have some offers, but in this new world of college football, players all have to be more patient than ever. Jordan can also make some impressive catches all over the field – even though he is only 5’10, he has shown he can win jump balls on occasion over bigger defensive backs. Jordan has posted he is no longer going to play at Cox Mill on social media, so it will be interesting to see where Jordan plays his senior season.

Jordan is another player I’ve long admired that is just a straight dog and playmaker with the football in his hands. Jordan has electric speed as a receiver, and he excels in making plays down the field, stretching the defense and being a game breaker. Jordan also can excel in the quick screen game, moving quickly with excellent agility and wiggle to match his vision with the ball in his hands. Jordan can also be explosive on kickoff and punt returns, with the traits to make defenders miss in the open field. Jordan is an easy selection for my Junior Bowl team for these reasons.

The dynamic receiver was used all over the field – Jordan had several chances as a kick returner, had multiple targets in the passing game, and had a few.designed runs from the receiver position. Jordan made an impressive jumping catch on a drive where Cox Mill had a decent scoring chance, but they could not punch it in the end zone. Jordan showed great speed and strength overall, and I loved his competitive attitude.

Cleaves has a rare quick twitch that makes defenders look silly and we moved him up in our rankings more than any other player in the class of 2026, all the way up from 116 last rankings to 36 here. His film doesn’t quite do his athleticism justice and his ability to make people miss is best seen live. We’re expecting several FBS schools to jump on the trend Charlotte started and offer Cleaves, especially once he gets some junior film out there.

A two-way player, Cleaves has just started to receive a bit of recognition on the camp circuit this summer, but his film and numbers are too good to ignore. He projects best as a wide receiver because he stacks his routes extremely well and is explosive in and out of cuts, both before and after the catch. Colleges are sometimes apprehensive about smaller receivers, but if you haven’t seen Cleaves’ explosiveness in person, you’re missing out.