NC High School Football Recruiting: 2026 Composite Player Rankings

National Signing Day 2025 is now in the rearview, and the race is on for Class of 2026 football prospects across North Carolina.

Multiple standouts from the Old North State have already made verbal commitments to college programs. A majority have not, however.

Who are the top 2026 North Carolina players heading into spring football, junior day invites and a key stretch of the recruiting process? 

NC Football News looked at the latest statewide rankings posted by national outlets 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN to get a big-picture view. From these rankings we have assembled our own Composite Rankings List by taking an average of each of the four services’ ratings. 

High school football recruiting is an ever-changing landscape (in fact, one of the recruiting outlets issued new North Carolina rankings as we were compiling this story). We’ll continue to monitor all 2026 rankings and update our list regularly as national outlets update theirs. 

Take Me To The Composite Rankings!

Grimsley quarterback Faizon Brandon leads the way

Three out of four media outlets list quarterback Faizon Brandon (Greensboro | Grimsley HS) at the top of their statewide rankings. 247Sports has Brandon on top of its national rankings as well – all players, all positions. Rivals has him ranked second nationally. ESPN lists him sixth.

Brandon has been living the dream so far as a prep player. He led Grimsley to an undefeated season and a 4A state championship win over Rolesville in 2024, throwing three touchdown passes and rushing for another in the title game.

Brandon boasts a long offer sheet from elite level programs. He broke a lot of hearts last August, pledging for the Tennessee Volunteers. If that commitment holds true on signing day later this year, Brandon will join David Sanders Jr. – the 2025 top player in North Carolina – in Knoxville. Sanders played for powerhouse Providence Day School and emerged as one of the top offensive linemen in the country.

Reidsville two-sport standout Kendre’ Harrison currently ranks 2nd

One of North Carolina’s elite multi-sport standouts ranks second in our 2026 composite rankings. Kendre’ Harrison (Reidsville | Reidsville HS) has been a monster on the gridiron and the hardwood the past couple of seasons.

The 6-7 Harrison helped lead Reidsville to a 2A state championship sweep in both football and basketball during the 2023-24 school year. His ram-shattering dunks have gone viral on social media.

It’s hard not to compare Harrison with former Southern Nash and UNC Tar Heel great Julius Peppers, who went on to a stellar NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.

Harrison, though, has committed to play college ball out-of-state. He gave a verbal to Oregon this past fall, with the understanding that he’ll be able to play both sports for the Ducks. 

Could the appeal of playing for Bill Belichick and Hubert Davis in Chapel Hill ultimately keep him in state? That would be quite the flip for the Heels, though Harrison has said that he’s “100 percent locked in with Oregon.”

Elite linemen dominate our composite top 10

Rodney Dunham (Charlotte | Myers Park HS), Pierre Dean (Clemmons | West Forsyth) and Aiden Harris (Matthews | Weddington HS) comprise the rest of our top five. Dunham is an edge rusher. Dean plays on the interior of the offensive line. Harris is a defensive lineman. 

Dunham recently jumped to the top spot in the state in On3’s North Carolina rankings. He’s listed seventh nationally overall and the third-best edge rusher. Dunham reported recent offers from NC State, Texas and Oregon. On3 lists Tennessee as the leader, with South Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame and Florida State among his leaders.

Dean (6-5, 305) had been ranked first in the state by On3 and is now third. Dean has been on SEC radars since 2023, getting an early offer from Georgia. He’s got a lengthy offer sheet heading into his senior campaign, which includes all the big names from our state (UNC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest) as well as programs like Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Florida, Miami and Penn State.

Much of the rest of the North Carolina composite top 10 is filled with linemen/edge rushers: 

• Ekene Ogboko (IOL | Garner | South Garner HS), who is ranked 6th;
• Leo Delaney (IOL | Charlotte | Providence Day School), 8th; 
• Keshawn Stancil (Clayton | Clayton HS), 9th 

Cornerback Samari Matthews (Cornelius | HS) is seventh, while wide receiver Gordon Sellars (Charlotte | Providence Day) is 10th. None of these players have currently announced college commitments as of Feb. 25. 

Elite out-of-state programs making inroads in our state

It’s been an age-old battle for North Carolina’s ACC contingent to keep top level talent within the Old North State’s borders. That looks to be the case again with the Class of 2026.

Of the nine players from our composite list who have announced commitments, only two have pledged in-state. Meanwhile, Tennessee has two commitments, and Oregon, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Miami and Virginia have one apiece.

The two in-state pledges play quarterback. UNC got a commitment from Zaid Lott (Charlotte | Providence Day) back in June. NC State picked up a verbal from Jacob Smith (Pfafftown | Reagan HS) last August. 

How we assembled our composite rankings

To get our composite rankings, we plugged the statewide rankings from 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN into a spreadsheet to get an average. When a player doesn’t show up on a particular outlet’s rankings, we give him the next number after the last one (for example, everyone not listed in Rivals’ top 25 for North Carolina was given 26).

Not a perfect system for sure. But it gives us an idea of where North Carolina players stack up among national media outlets devoted to prep football recruiting coverage. 

Players only listed by one recruiting service are not included in our composite rankings.

2026 North Carolina Composite Player Recruiting Rankings

More High School Football Recruiting Content

Check out where 2026 North Carolina high school football standouts will play in college

Find out which 2026 high school football players have committed to North Carolina college programs

Explore 2025 North Carolina composite player rankings, led by Providence Day standout David Sanders Jr. (Tennessee signee)

Eric Lusk Publisher & Editor

Eric Lusk started NC Football News in 2023. He's an old newspaper guy with a fondness for underdogs, redemption stories and the triple-option offense. He's a proud graduate of Jesse O. Sanderson High School and UNC's School of Journalism. He's thankful for God's mercy, family and second chances.

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