The Marshall commit played well enough to win overall in Week 1, connecting with WR Jahmere Anderson Jahmere Anderson 6'2" | 190 lbs | WR William A. Hough | 2027 State NC for two critical touchdown passes in a narrow 15-10 victory. The Hough offense will look to improve in both the running and passing game overall, and Ethan is a big driver of both of those efforts by design in their offense. If the offense can get going, the Huskies defense has plenty of talent and will look to build off the 12 sacks they collected in Week 1.

Royal’s raw numbers aren’t as impressive as some of the other guys on this list, but it’s at least partially because he’s usually out of the game by the fourth quarter. We can’t measure “clutch” with a statistic, but he’s one of the best late-game performers we’ve ever covered. A true dual-threat, the Marshall commit is a potential player of the year candidate.

I recently wrote about Ethan’s commitment to Marshall, and you can see why Ethan was successful in leading the Huskies to their first-ever state championship. The intangibles for him are off the charts, and it matches his on-field talent as well. The dynamic dual-threat quarterback makes special plays consistently on Friday nights with his speed and scrambling ability. Royal is surrounded by dynamic playmakers, and it allows Hough to spread the field, creating natural lanes for him to run on designed runs or scrambles off of passing plays consistently. Royal can also make throws from the pocket to a talented receiving core who can take advantage of single coverage from teams loading up to slow down the run. It’s a great system for Ethan to shine, and I think he will once again this season.

The final commitment of the night came from Ethan, the team’s star quarterback and our #1 quarterback in the 2027 class in North Carolina. I have to share that Ethan personally reached out to me with a message to come to the ceremony, and that’s something that I’ve never received in my media role in over 10 years. That tells you how special and different this young man is. His talents on the field are well known – the dual-threat quarterback who brought the Huskies their first state championship. Coach Baker shared a nice story on how Ethan promised he would create history by bringing a championship to Corneilus, and how he reminded everyone of that promise in the state championship game.

Ethan had over 30 offers to play college football, and ultimately took the stage with the largest contingent of family and friends I’ve ever seen, reflective of all the support behind him and the people he touches. Ethan displayed several hats in front of him, but as he narrowed the choices, he threw the hats to fans and teammates in attendance – something I’ve never seen before. Ultimately, Ethan emphatically announced that he was going to attend Marshall, and I think that’s a great choice. I think Ethan will have a chance to play early and make a real impact for a program that will benefit from his infectious energy and creativity on the field.

Our 704 Junior Bowl QB gets another accolade, being the top-ranked quarterback out of Mecklenburg County as well. College programs are now taking notice of what we’ve already known, as Ethan has picked up recent offers from Samford, Eastern Michigan, and Kent State since the start of 2026. Ethan’s dual-threat ability keeps plays alive for the Husky offense, and this season, I expect we’re going to see even more dynamic ability throwing the football down the field with the talented teammates Ethan has in his program this upcoming year.