Meet the top 25 high school football players in North Carolina
Faizon Brandon of Greensboro’s Grimsley High is the reigning N.C. Mr. Football in North Carolina and the top player in the state heading into the 2025 season this fall.
Brandon, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback, will start his senior season in August. He is the No. 1- ranked player in the nation by 247 Sports and has committed to Tennessee.
Last season, Brandon led Grimsley to a 15-0 record and the N.C. 4A state championship. He completed 157 of 204 passes for 2,632 yards and 33 touchdowns. He threw one interception.
This year, Grimsley returns 25 lettermen and 11 starters, including four on offense. Sports Illustrated ranked Grimsley No. 16 nationally in its top 25 preseason rankings. The Whirlies were the highest- ranked teams from the Carolinas.
“I would say all that just makes you want to work harder,” Brandon said Wednesday. “I just want to prove myself, you know, that we can go back to back. And that’s the main thing, to win the state championship.”
Grimsley coach Daryl Brown said having Brandon back makes his team a target, but it’s one that he said he welcomes.
“We’re different than last year’s group,” he said. “We lost some key players on the defensive side of the ball, for sure, like (defensive lineman) Bryce Davis (who will play at Duke this fall). So we’ve got a lot of work to do, but this group is hungry. We’ve been in this situation before. Back where we’re from, around Greensboro, everybody’s kind of gunning for us. Again, we don’t really worry about it. We’re trying to focus on being the best we can be each day.”
North Carolina’s top 25
| Rk. | Name | School | Hometown | Pos. | College |
| 1. | Faizon Brandon | Grimsley | Greensboro | QB | Tennessee |
| 2. | Rodney Dunham | Myers Park | Charlotte | DL | Notre Dame |
| 3. | Ekene Ogboko | South Garner | Durham | OL | Undecided |
| 4. | Aiden Harris | Weddington | Matthews | DL | Undecided |
| 5. | Kendre Harrison | Reidsville | Reidsville | TE | Oregon |
| 6. | Leo Delaney | Providence Day | Charlotte | OL | Undecided |
| 7. | Camdin Portis | Myers Park | Charlotte | DB | Miami |
| 8. | Samari Matthews | Hough | Cornelius | DB | Undecided |
| 9. | Pierre Dean | West Forsyth | Clemmons | OL | Undecided |
| 10. | Noah Clark | C.E. Jordan | Durham | DL | Undecided |
| 11. | Elijah Littlejohn | West Mecklenburg | Charlotte | DE | Undecided |
| 12. | Thomas Davis Jr. | Weddington | Matthews | LB | Notre Dame |
| 13. | Trashawn Ruffin | North Duplin | Mt. Olive | DL | UNC |
| 14. | Keshawn Stancil | Clayton | Clayton | DL | Undecided |
| 15. | Gordon Sellars | Providence Day | Charlotte | WR | Clemson |
| 16. | Ebenezer Ewetade | South Garner | Garner | DE | Notre Dame |
| 17. | Zavion Griffin-Hayes | Rolesville | Rolesville | DE | Undecided |
| 18. | Ben Boulware | Oak Grove | Winston-Salem | DL | Undecided |
| 19. | Damaad Lewis | Myers Park | Charlotte | DL | Undecided |
| 20. | Jace McCollum | Hickory Ridge | Harrisburg | DE | Undecided |
| 21. | Manny Lewis | Marvin Ridge | Waxhaw | DE | Undecided |
| 22. | Terande Spencer | Richmond Senior | Rockingham | DE | Undecided |
| 23. | D’Various Surratt | Crest | Boiling Springs | DB | Undecided |
| 24. | Andrew Harris | Weddington | Matthews | DL | Undecided |
| 25. | Keysaun Eleazer | Southeast Raleigh | Raleigh | DE | Undecided |
