1. When the prep schedules came out last summer, the two games I wanted to see the most — Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan at Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley on Aug. 26, and Charlotte (N.C.) Christian at Charlotte Providence Day, which is tonight.
The Reagan and Grimsley game was exciting until the end with junior wide receiver Alex Taylor getting the game-winning touchdown catch in a 40-34 victory. The Providence Day and Charlotte Christian could end up with over 10 high-major recruits between the two teams.
Providence Day won 48-47 in overtime last year, and walking out of the stadium, it felt like the game of the year last season. Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on going to it. I was supposed to see Belmont (N.C.) South Point and Gastonia (N.C.) Ashbrook on Oct. 15, 2021, but the latter had a COVID outbreak the morning of the game. Maybe I would have seen Providence Day or Charlotte Christian later in the season, but that wasn’t a given. The two players who were sitting on offers a year ago are still uncommitted — senior cornerback Chris Peal of Providence Day and senior athlete Grant Tucker of Charlotte Christian. So many players used last year’s game as a jump off point.
NC State running back commit Kyron Jones emerged in that game last year, running for a 75-yard touchdown right off the bat with his blazing speed.
Providence Day wide receivers Jordan Shipp and Channing Goodwin showed that they belonged on the big stage, and Goodwin caught the game-winning touchdown. Both have become major college recruiting targets since then. Same for current junior safety Brody Barnhardt, who had a big game in last year’s matchup and is a major NC State target.
Two players who were injured in last year’s game will be major recruits moving forward. Providence Day sophomore lineman David Sanders is now the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, and he got hurt in the second game of the season last year. Wide receiver Micah Gilbert missed the regular season matchup with a hamstring, and was essentially in his first full year of football. He has 12 scholarship offers.
Now, with quarterback Jadyn Davis entering the mix as the Rivals.com No. 8 overall player in the class of 2024, it just go spicier.
2. The early Signing Day period for football is Dec. 21-23, and the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is Dec. 17 at Wofford University.
There could be two recruits still up in the air during that time period in the game — New Bern (N.C.) High defensive lineman Keith Sampson Jr. and Camden (S.C.) High defensive end Shymeik Jones.
The three NC State commits who were picked for the game include Charlotte Chambers wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, Rolesville (N.C.) High defensive back Tamarcus Cooley and Boone (N.C.) Watauga defensive end Isaiah Shirley. Those are three good players to work on other prospects.
With the Shrine Bowl back after the COVID era, it was going to be interesting to see who got picked this year. Some players might not have tried due to various reasons, perhaps early enrolling in college of another all-star game at the same time.
The NCISAA players in North Carolina aren’t eligible for the Shrine Bowl, so that affects NC State commits Kyron Jones and Zack Myers.
Quarterback commit Lex Thomas had surgery, so that would have eliminated him. So, sometimes the lines get blurry on whether an NC State commit was “snubbed.”
Duke ended up with four commits, and NC State and North Carolina each had three commits make the North Carolina squad.
Fifteen of the top 40 players in North Carolina by Rivals.com rankings were selected for the game. Stars could be earned that week as it is about final exam time.
3. Cooley is having a big week in general.
He was picked for the Shrine Bowl, played a major role in helping Rolesville hammer Raleigh Millbrook 35-6 last Friday, and plays at his old high school Knightdale (N.C.) High tonight.
Cooley also was fresh off of not having the best of times this month and frustrated with his role at Rolesville High.
Cooley has all the potential in the world to out-play his high school rankings. He’s a natural athlete, who took on the challenge of going where Millbrook senior wide receiver and Tennessee commit Nathan Leacock went. He shut him down for the most part.
Leacock was able to get a 86-yard touchdown late, but was aided by Cooley falling down on the play. It’s unknown whether Leacock’s route made Cooley slip and fall, or he just slipped and fell. Either way, Leacock finished the game with two other catches.
The state of North Carolina isn’t always conducive for great individual matchups in football. There aren’t many times where you see two high-major talents like Cooley and Leacock collide on the football field. Some highly thought of prospects will play an entire regular season and not face an opponent who has a Power Five Conference prospect.
That is what made the Cooley vs. Leacock matchup so fun because it is so rare.
