Who’s the best football player in North Carolina? Here’s our Mr. Football Watchlist
Who will be Mr. Football?
Last season, the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer handed out the High School Heisman Award in the fall season (to Charlotte Christian’s Henry Rutledge) and in the spring (to Chambers High’s Daylan Smothers).
For Year 2, the award will change names to Mr. Football, to match the Mr. and Ms. Basketball Awards the Charlotte Observer has awarded since the early ‘80s to the state’s best boys and girls basketball players.
Today, the Observer releases a preseason Watch List of potential players who could be named Mr. Football. If you’re not on the list, don’t fret, you can play your way onto it.
Throughout the season, the list will be updated on the Observer’s Talking Preps streaming show, which runs each Tuesday, and later this year, three finalists will be invited on the program with a winner announced.
Here are the preseason top 25.
| Name | School | Position |
| Michael Allen | Rose | RB |
| Alonza Barnett | Grimsley | QB |
| Bryum Brown | Rolesville | QB |
| Tate Carney | Davie County | RB |
| KC Concepcion | Chambers | WR |
| Isaiah Crowell | East Forsyth | DB |
| Mack David | West Forsyth | LB |
| Bryce Dixon | Butler | DL |
| Kaveon Freshwater | Northeastern | DL |
| Christian Hamilton | Hickory Ridge | WR |
| Omarion Hampton | Cleveland | RB |
| Malaki Hamrick | Shelby | LB |
| Tad Hudson | Hough | QB |
| Shaleak Knotts | Monroe | WR |
| Jacob Newman | South Mecklenburg | RB |
| James Pearce | Chambers | Edge |
| Albert Redd | Glenn | LB |
| Noah Rogers | Rolesville | WR |
| Travis Shaw | Grimsley | DL |
| Daylan Smothers | Chambers | RB |
| Jalen Swindell | Chambers | DL |
| Tamorye Thompson | Grimsley | Edge |
| Jalen Walker | Salisbury | LB |
| Torren Wright | AL Brown | LB |
| Carter Wyatt | West Brunswick | LB |
