When it comes to ranking the top North Carolina high school football players from the Class of 2025, one name towers above the rest. Offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. (Concord | Providence Day School) is and has been the consensus No. 1 senior player in our state, earning the top spot from all four major outlets that cover recruiting – 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN.
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound tackle, who signed with the Tennessee Volunteers in December, has long been considered one of the nation’s top offensive linemen. He headlines a strong 2025 recruiting class from the Old North State, which saw a multitude of players earn national attention and land with big-time college programs.
With the latest National Signing Day in the rearview, and most teams putting finishing touches on their 2025 high school recruiting classes, we explore how national media viewed our state’s top prospects.
Below is the NC Football News Composite Rankings for the Class of 2025, a weighted average of player ratings from 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN.
A total of 80 North Carolina prospects earned a spot in at least one statewide rankings list compiled by the big four recruiting outlets. A dozen appear in at least one national rankings list as well, including five who are on all four.
GO TO THE LIST! Click to scroll immediately to the NC Football News Composite Rankings table
Here are notes and highlights from the 2025 top players list:
📌 David Sanders: North Carolina’s No. 1 Player and a Tennessee-Bound Road-Grader
When it comes to elite offensive linemen, few prospects in recent years have commanded as much attention as David Sanders. He appeared on recruiting radars early in his prep career at Providence Day, and at various points was considered the nation’s top overall prospect regardless of position.
He remains a consensus five-star recruit and is currently ranked No. 6 nationally by Rivals, No. 7 by ESPN, No. 9 by On3 and No. 11 by 247Sports (as of mid-February). Across all services, he is regarded as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2025 class.
Sanders was named the 2023 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and was a finalist for Mr. Football in North Carolina in 2024 by the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer. He was a part of three NCISAA state championship teams at Providence Day in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
His combination of size, power, and mobility earned him a spot on the 247Sports 2025 Freaks List, recognizing him as one of the most physically dominant recruits in the country. He twice earned all-state honors and made second-team MaxPreps All-American in 2023.
He chose the Vols over more than 40 other offers, with his final four coming down to Tennessee, Ohio State, Georgia and Nebraska.
📌 Tennessee nabs three top-15 prospects from NC
The Volunteers didn’t just ink the consensus No. 1 player from our state this year, they also signed the No. 2 player, defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell (Durham | Southern Durham HS), and the No. 12 player, defensive lineman Charles House (Huntersville | North Mecklenburg HS).
Campbell, a versatile run-stopping tackle, ranks in the top 35 nationally according to three recruiting outlets. He played in just seven games during his senior season at Southern, still amassing 80 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, 12 sacks and an amazing 47 quarterback hurries. He earned 110 tackles and 27 TFLs during an all-state junior campaign.
House finished with 42 tackles, seven sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries during his final season at North Meck.
Tennessee’s pipeline seems strong into the Old North State. The top prospect from the Class of 2026, quarterback Faizon Brandon from 4A state champion Grimsley has already pledged for the Volunteers. (We’ll publish a composite rankings list for the Class of 2026 soon!).
📌 Top prospect To Stay In-State: Bryce Davis
Manny Diaz’s Duke Blue Devils scored a huge recruiting coup in the fall, flipping edge rusher Bryce Davis (Greensboro | Grimsley). Davis had been committed to Clemson before opting to stay in state.
Davis ranks third overall in our composite rankings and is a top 75 player nationally according to 247Sports and Rivals. He’s one of the top-ranked recruits ever to pick Duke out of high school.
Sports Illustrated voted Davis its National Defensive Player of the Year for 2024. He also earned MaxPreps All-America status after a monster senior season, which included 125 total tackles, 37 (!) tackles-for-loss, 27 sacks, five forced fumbles and eight pass break-ups. Grimsley went 16-0 this past season to claim the state championship.
📌 UNC, Bill Belichick land top NC quarterback
Kernersville’s Bryce Baker (East Forsyth High School) ranks fourth in our composite list and is the top quarterback in the class. He pledged for North Carolina when Mack Brown was still the coach. Despite a push from other programs when Brown was dismissed, Baker opted to stick with his commitment to the Tar Heels – a huge early recruiting win for Bill Belichick.
The 6-3, 205-pounder ranks as the No. 11 quarterback in the nation. He spent two seasons at East Forsyth after transferring from Walkertown High. He threw for 6,605 yards and 79 touchdowns during his junior and senior campaigns. He also added more than 500 rushing yards and nine more TDs. East Forsyth went 13-1 in 2024, making the state quarterfinals.
📌 In-state schools struggle to keep top talent home
It’s a popular recruiting manta for schools to talk about “building a fence” around North Carolina. But our state’s top programs struggled to do that in large numbers with this class.
Fifteen of the top 25 players in our 2025 composite list committed/signed with out-of-state programs. Like Tennessee, South Carolina from the SEC grabbed three of North Carolina’s best. Virginia Tech and Rutgers added two apiece, while Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Auburn and even Liberty also inked high-end talent from Old North State addresses.
NC State, Wake Forest and Duke each had three top-25 players. UNC signed two.
The Wolfpack’s top prospect from our composite rankings is Je’rel Bolder (Wingate | Forest Hills HS), who is seventh. Wake Forest’s top high school signee also is a wideout, Koredell Bartley (Greensboro | Dudley HS), who is 21st. Bartley had been committed to USF, but changed to Wake Forest in November.
📌 Highest-ranked prospects for ECU, App State
East Carolina earned commitments from five players in our composite list. The Pirates’ top recruit ranks 26th – wide receiver Jonathan Williams (Havelock | Havelock HS).
Williams finished his high school career with more than 2,400 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. He also threw for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for 1,800+ as a quarterback.
Williams might be the most versatile player in this year’s class, earning honors as both a defensive and offensive player. He scored four touchdowns in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas in December, earning MVP honors. His career will be intriguing to watch unfold. Is his ranking too low?
Appalachian State’s highest ranked recruit in our list is running back Max Guest (Asheville | AC Reynolds HS), who ranks 35th. His prep career included gaining more than 3,400 yards on the ground and scoring 51 rushing TDs.
The Charlotte 49ers, which changed coaches in December (hiring Tim Albin for Ohio) did not sign a player from our composite list. The 49ers had received a pledge from defensive lineman Jadyn Farmer (Matthews | Butler HS) in February 2024, but Farmer decommitted earlier this year. He is currently listed on the Hutchinson Community College roster in Kansas.
📌 ATH Corey Blair headed to 2023 FCS national champion
Corey Blair, listed 55th, is the highest-ranked prospect from our state to commit to an FCS program. The athlete/running back from Kernersville (East Forsyth HS) signed with South Dakota State on Feb. 6. The Jackrabbits won the 2023 FCS national championship and advanced to the semifinals this season.
Panther Creek wide receiver Nare Means signed with Hampton from the FCS Coastal Athletic Association. Hickory quarterback Brady Stober, who piloted the Red Tornadoes to a 2023 state title, signed with Samford from the FCS Southern Conference.
📌 A few uncommitted players remain
Five players from our top 80 composite list have not made college announcements.
The highest ranked player is edge Traquin Watson (Kenly | North Johnston), who is 42nd. ESPN ranks Watson as the 15th best player in our state, while he is unranked by 247Sports and Rivals. Per On3, Watson holds offers from Appalachian State, South Carolina, James Madison and Texas Tech.
Najai Hines, a 6-foot-8 tight end, had been receiving Division I offers while playing at South Garner. He has since moved to New Jersey and has opted to go all-in on basketball, according to a recent story on 247Sports. He is averaging 19 points and 17 rebounds per game for Plainville (NJ) High and has jumped into 247’s Top 150 high school hoops prospects.
We left Hines in our composite rankings because he’s still listed as a top 30 football player from North Carolina by both Rivals and On3. ECU, App State, Charlotte and Elon all extended football offers to Hines.
Other uncommitted prospects include quarterbacks CJ Gray (Kannapolis | AL Brown HS) and Jared Lockhart (Charlotte | Porter Ridge HS), and cornerback Peewee Jones (Charlotte | West Charlotte). Jones decommitted from the Charlotte 49ers in November.
📌 How we compiled our composite rankings
There are numerous media outlets that cover high school and college football recruiting, each with their own scouting and ranking formulas. We used 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN for our NC Football News Composite Rankings because each has a strong national reputation and each outlet publishes their statewide rankings in the free section of their websites. Other outlets put their statewide player rankings behind a paywall.
We scanned the most recent statewide player rankings for 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN, and plugged their numbers into a spreadsheet to create an average. If a player was not listed by one or more outlets, we gave them a ranking that is one number higher than the last player on that service’s list.
Imperfect system? Yes, but the composite approach still provides a picture of how the major recruiting outlets view our state’s top high school prospects. (247Sports also publishes a composite rankings list but does not disclose its algorithm used to generate the rankings).
In most cases, all four outlets had players in the same general range. There were a few with wildly different rankings, though.
Edge rusher Donovan Darden (Havelock | Havelock HS) ranked third in the state with On3 and fourth with 247Sports. But Rivals listed Darden, who signed with South Carolina, at No. 21.
Dan Mahan, a Duke quarterback signee, got strong reviews from Rivals, who listed the Burlington (Williams HS) product ninth in their latest statewide rankings. But ESPN has Mahan at No. 41 in our state, which obviously dropped him down our composite list (he’s 20th overall).
📌 Who will have the best careers from this list?
The fun and intriguing part will be watching these careers unfold in the months and years ahead – and seeing how much the deck reshuffles in this age of rampant transfer portal movement.
Have comments on our rankings? Think a prospect should have been ranked higher? Someone not on this list who should have been? Tag us with your thoughts on Twitter/X. We’d love it if you would share our content as well.
2025 NC Football News Composite Recruiting Rankings
(The table is sortable).
| RANK | NAME | AVG | POS | HT | WT | HOMETOWN | SCHOOL | SIGNED | 247 | RIVALS | ON3 | ESPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Sanders Jr. | 1.00 | OT | 6-6 | 285 | Concord | Providence Day | Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Isaiah Campbell | 2.50 | DL | 6-4 | 280 | Durham | Southern HS | Tennessee | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Bryce Davis | 4.00 | EDGE | 6-3 | 260 | Greensboro | Grimsley HS | Duke | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 4 | Bryce Baker | 4.25 | QB | 6-2.5 | 195 | Kernersville | East Forsyth HS | North Carolina | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Jordan Young | 6.00 | ATH | 6-0 | 180 | Monroe | Monroe HS | Michigan | 10 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 6 | JaDon Blair | 6.25 | S | 6-4 | 190 | Winston-Salem | Mount Tabor HS | Notre Dame | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | Je'rel Bolder | 8.50 | WR | 6-0 | 192 | Wingate | Forest Hills HS | NC State | 7 | 6 | 11 | 10 |
| 8 | Brian Rowe | 9.75 | WR | 5-10 | 175 | Concord | Jay M Robinson HS | South Carolina | 8 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| 9 | Donovan Darden | 10.25 | EDGE | 6-4 | 225 | Havelock | Havelock HS | South Carolina | 4 | 21 | 3 | 13 |
| 10 | Shamarius Peterkin | 11.00 | WR | 6-2 | 172 | Winston-Salem | Mount Tabor HS | Virginia Tech | 9 | 7 | 14 | 14 |
| 11 | Tai Buster | 11.75 | IOL | 6-3 | 280 | Kannapolis | A.L. Brown HS | Auburn | 18 | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| 12 | Charles House | 12.50 | DL | 6-3 | 288 | Huntersville | North Mecklenburg HS | Tennessee | 11 | 13 | 9 | 17 |
| 13 | Trajen Odom | 13.25 | DL | 6-4 | 285 | Matthews | Weddington HS | Ohio State | 13 | 11 | 21 | 8 |
| 14 | Elijiah Oehlke | 16.25 | QB | 6-2 | 208 | Hope Mills | Trinity Christian | Wake Forest | 27 | 12 | 17 | 9 |
| 15 | Taeshawn Alston | 18.00 | EDGE | 6-3 | 234 | Henderson | Vance County HS | South Carolina | 19 | 17 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | Jamien Little | 18.50 | WR | 6-1 | 175 | Hickory | Hickory HS | Duke | 12 | 31 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | Michael Gibbs | 19.00 | IOL | 6-4 | 305 | Wilmington | Hoggard HS | NC State | 16 | 25 | 16 | 19 |
| 18 | Isaiah Deloatch | 19.25 | LB | 6-1 | 210 | Durham | Hillside HS | Rutgers | 15 | 27 | 23 | 12 |
| 19 | Sherrod Henderson | 21.00 | EDGE | 6-3 | 210 | Rocky Point | Heide Trask HS | Virginia Tech | 20 | 19 | 19 | 26 |
| 20 | Dan Mahan | 21.75 | QB | 6-2 | 185 | Burlington | Williams HS | Duke | 24 | 9 | 13 | 41 |
| 21 | Koredell Bartley | 21.75 | WR | 5-11 | 173 | Greensboro | Dudley HS | Wake Forest | 14 | 31 | 20 | 22 |
| 22 | Steven Murray | 22.00 | ATH | 6-1 | 160 | Gibsonville | Eastern Guilford HS | Rutgers | 28 | 15 | 25 | 20 |
| 23 | Trey Blue | 25.25 | IOL | 6-5 | 310 | Cary | Cary HS | North Carolina | 17 | 24 | 26 | 34 |
| 24 | Nasir Newkirk | 26.00 | WR | 6-2 | 185 | Greensboro | Dudley HS | Liberty | 31 | 22 | 27 | 24 |
| 25 | Gus Ritchey | 26.25 | TE | 6-3.5 | 241 | Pittsboro | Cary HS | NC State | 30 | 18 | 36 | 21 |
| 26 | Jonathan Williams | 28.00 | WR | 5-9.5 | 160 | Havelock | Havelock HS | East Carolina | 38 | 23 | 12 | 39 |
| 27 | Demon June | 28.00 | RB | 5-11 | 225 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville HS | North Carolina | 23 | 16 | 44 | 29 |
| 28 | Jariel Cobb | 28.50 | RB | 5-10 | 180 | Reidsville | Reidsville HS | North Carolina | 26 | 31 | 34 | 23 |
| 29 | Brandon Rose | 30.00 | S | 5-11 | 185 | Charlotte | Mallard Creek HS | Coastal Carolina | 33 | 31 | 24 | 32 |
| 30 | Jamari Farmer | 30.00 | LB | 5-10.5 | 218 | Mooresville | Mooresville HS | Indiana | 32 | 31 | 29 | 28 |
| 31 | Justin Rowe | 31.25 | LB | 6-2 | 215 | Asheville | Asheville School | Virginia | 21 | 31 | 38 | 35 |
| 32 | Braxton Winston | 32.00 | CB | 5-11 | 165 | Charlotte | Providence Day | Wake Forest | 42 | 31 | 30 | 25 |
| 33 | Amareon Blue | 32.25 | RB | 5-8 | 192 | Durham | Jordan HS | Eastern Michigan | 46 | 31 | 22 | 30 |
| 34 | Kavon Simmons | 34.75 | ATH | 6-0.5 | 170 | Wake Forest | Wake Forest HS | Duke | 41 | 31 | 40 | 27 |
| 35 | Max Guest | 35.50 | RB | 5-9 | 190 | Asheville | A.C. Reynolds | Appalachian State | 43 | 31 | 35 | 33 |
| 36 | Cairo Skanes | 37.00 | CB | 6-0.5 | 185 | Charlotte | Providence Day | Wisconsin | 35 | 31 | 51 | 31 |
| 37 | Fonzy Smith | 37.25 | WR | 6-0 | 175 | Fayetteville | Trinity Christian | Western Kentucky | 39 | 31 | 41 | 38 |
| 38 | Arrion Concepcion | 37.50 | WR | 5-9 | 170 | Charlotte | Chambers HS | Kansas State | 34 | 30 | 42 | 44 |
| 39 | Jadyn Farmer | 39.00 | DL | 6-5 | 275 | Matthews | Butler HS | Hutchinson C.C. | 52 | 31 | 33 | 40 |
| 40 | Tylik Mitchell | 39.75 | RB | 5-11 | 183 | Bailey | Southern Nash HS | Old Dominion | 22 | 31 | 70 | 36 |
| 41 | Sam Browder | 41.00 | IOL | 6-5 | 280 | Arden | Christ School | Memphis | 40 | 29 | 49 | 46 |
| 42 | Traquin Watson | 41.00 | EDGE | 6-4 | 203 | Kenly | North Johnston HS | n/a | 70 | 31 | 48 | 15 |
| 43 | Brandon Stoner | 41.50 | IOL | 6-4 | 310 | Charlotte | Ardrey Kell HS | Georgia Southern | 53 | 31 | 37 | 45 |
| 44 | Jerron Blackwell | 42.25 | S | 6-2 | 190 | Greensboro | Dudley HS | Wake Forest | 37 | 20 | 69 | 43 |
| 45 | Kendric Davis | 43.00 | LB | 6-1.5 | 200 | Charlotte | Palisades HS | East Carolina | 48 | 31 | 46 | 47 |
| 46 | Kaleb Morrow | 43.50 | TE | 6-6 | 240 | Apex | Apex HS | East Carolina | 49 | 31 | 45 | 49 |
| 47 | LeDarrion Menter | 44.25 | DL | 6-2 | 245 | Concord | Hough HS | Old Dominion | 61 | 31 | 32 | 53 |
| 48 | Najai Hines | 44.25 | TE | 6-8 | 230 | Garner | South Garner HS | n/a | 70 | 26 | 28 | 53 |
| 49 | Jayden Fry | 44.50 | EDGE | 6-3.5 | 230 | Rolesville | Rolesville HS | Boston College | 29 | 31 | 70 | 48 |
| 50 | Garrison Dibble | 44.75 | EDGE | 6-4 | 245 | Winston-Salem | Atkins HS | Navy | 25 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 51 | Cole Webster | 45.25 | DL | 6-3 | 280 | Waxhaw | Cuthbertson HS | James Madison | 54 | 31 | 43 | 53 |
| 52 | Jack Sheehan | 46.00 | IOL | 6-6 | 295 | Raleigh | Cardinal Gibbons HS | Old Dominion | 50 | 31 | 50 | 53 |
| 53 | Josiah Dwyer | 46.25 | DL | 6-4 | 255 | Clinton | Clinton HS | East Carolina | 70 | 31 | 31 | 53 |
| 54 | Kaegan Chambers | 46.50 | ATH | 5-11 | 170 | Monroe | Monroe HS | Temple | 51 | 28 | 70 | 37 |
| 55 | Corey Blair | 47.50 | ATH | 6-3 | 205 | Kernersville | East Forsyth HS | South Dakota State | 36 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 56 | Dillon Galloway | 47.75 | TE | 6-4 | 240 | Brevard | Brevard HS | Appalachian State | 63 | 31 | 55 | 42 |
| 57 | Jonathan Stokes | 48.25 | IOL | 6-4 | 285 | Randleman | Randleman HS | East Carolina | 55 | 31 | 56 | 51 |
| 58 | Irving Brown | 49.00 | RB | 5-10 | 193 | Teachey | Wallace-Rose Hill | Ohio | 58 | 31 | 54 | 53 |
| 59 | Braden Ellis | 49.50 | OT | 6-5 | 280 | Greensboro | Northwest Guilford HS | Old Dominion | 44 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 60 | Nare Means | 49.50 | WR | 5-10 | 160 | Cary | Panther Creek HS | Hampton | 62 | 31 | 52 | 53 |
| 61 | Jehahj Sherrill | 49.75 | S | 6-1 | 165 | Statesville | Statesville HS | Old Dominion | 45 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 62 | Brady Stober | 50.25 | QB | 6-0 | 185 | Hickory | Hickory HS | Samford | 47 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 63 | Gavin Harris | 51.25 | CB | 6-1 | 180 | High Point | High Point Christian | Bowling Green | 57 | 31 | 64 | 53 |
| 64 | Zach Lawrence | 51.25 | QB | 6-0 | 191 | Matthews | Butler HS | UMass | 65 | 31 | 59 | 50 |
| 65 | Kareem Williams | 51.50 | S | 6-3 | 180 | Asheville | Asheville HS | Coastal Carolina | 59 | 31 | 63 | 53 |
| 66 | KJ Liles | 51.75 | DL | 6-4 | 280 | Durham | Hillside HS | Appalachian State | 70 | 31 | 53 | 53 |
| 67 | Bryce Lee | 52.50 | DL | 6-3 | 255 | Charlotte | Independence HS | Richmond | 56 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 68 | Chandler Telfaire | 52.75 | IOL | 6-4 | 255 | Raleigh | Enloe HS | Delaware | 70 | 31 | 57 | 53 |
| 69 | RJ Rainer | 52.75 | CB | 5-11 | 170 | Cornelius | Hough HS | Jacksonville State | 66 | 31 | 61 | 53 |
| 70 | Cam Hill | 53.00 | IOL | 6-4 | 275 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville HS | Old Dominion | 60 | 31 | 68 | 53 |
| 71 | Khalel Wright | 53.00 | QB | 6-0 | 185 | Charlotte | Charlotte Country Day | Ball State | 70 | 31 | 58 | 53 |
| 72 | Bradon Atkinson | 53.50 | QB | 6-1 | 215 | Rolesville | Rolesville HS | Mercer | 70 | 31 | 60 | 53 |
| 73 | De'Von Thomas | 54.00 | RB | 5-9 | 191 | Rolesville | Rolesville HS | Campbell | 70 | 31 | 62 | 53 |
| 74 | Charlie Smith | 54.50 | QB | 6-2 | 195 | Charlotte | Charlotte Catholic | Harvard | 64 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 75 | CJ Gray | 54.75 | QB | 6-2 | 200 | Kannapolis | A.L. Brown HS | n/a | 70 | 31 | 65 | 53 |
| 76 | Jared Lockhart | 55.00 | QB | 6-4 | 175 | Charlotte | Porter Ridge HS | n/a | 70 | 31 | 66 | 53 |
| 77 | Cristian Harthan | 55.25 | P/K | 6-5 | 195 | Waxhaw | Cuthbertson HS | NC State | 68 | 31 | 70 | 52 |
| 78 | Jackson Forrest | 55.25 | LB | 6-1 | 225 | Concord | Northwest Cabarrus HS | Old Dominion | 67 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
| 79 | Peewee Jones | 55.25 | CB | 6-0 | 180 | Charlotte | West Charlotte HS | n/a | 70 | 31 | 67 | 53 |
| 80 | Breylon McCuller | 55.75 | EDGE | 6-5 | 240 | Raleigh | Millbrook HS | Missouri State | 69 | 31 | 70 | 53 |
