10 burning questions about the 2023 Charlotte-area high school football season

High school football teams in North Carolina kick off another season on Monday, when formal practices begin. Following are 10 burning questions about the 2023 season in the Charlotte, Raleigh and Rock Hill areas:

1. What are three games you can’t miss?

Providence Day vs. Rock Hill Northwestern, Aug. 19: Its the first-ever high school football game at Bank of America Stadium and features two teams that are nationally ranked and chock full of college recruits.

Buford (GA) at Mallard Creek, Aug. 25: Both teams are nationally ranked in the preseason and Buford is No. 1 nationally in at least one poll. Buford also features the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024, QB Dylan Raiola. Raiola has committed to Georgia.

Cardinal Gibbons at Rolesville, Sept. 8: Two teams that are the most recent state finalists from Wake County meet.

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2. Will Jadyn Davis be able to duplicate his junior season?

Providence Day’s quarterback committed to Michigan earlier this season and Davis will attempt to become the first player to repeat as NC Mr. Football.

Davis threw for 3,425 yards and 43 touchdowns while leading the Chargers to a second straight state title. Can he do it again? Can his team three-peat?

On paper, the Chargers have the tools.

3. What are the key dates?

▪ NC Football practice officially begins Monday, July 31. South Carolina started Friday.

▪ NCHSAA public school playoff begin Nov. 3 and state finals are Dec. 8-9.

▪ NCISAA private school playoffs begin Nov. 3. The state finals in Division I and Division II are Nov. 17.

▪ The S.C. state playoffs begin Nov. 3 and state finals are Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

4. Is Wake County going to continue to be strong?

Wake County has won four of the past seven state championships in the state’s largest class, beating Mecklenburg County Schools in each of those finals. But that was only two teams: Cardinal Gibbons of Raleigh and Wake Forest.

Raleigh’s Leeville Road (2019) and Rolesville (2021) also made state finals appearances, but the feeling here is that Wake County’s run, for now, is behind it. Among the top 25 players in North Carolina, Wake County only has one — Fuquay-Varina defensive back Malcolm Ziglar is ranked No. 5 by 247 Sports and has committed to UNC.

Alex Bass of The Observer’s Talking Preps’ streaming show thinks Wake County “is always going to be strong defensively because it has to be; because historically it doesn’t have the high-powered offenses like in Mecklenburg County. And while defense may be good here, I don’t think there’s enough offensive firepower in this area for a school to get it done in a playoff run.”

5. What’s up with all the new NC coaches in the Charlotte area?

There are 16 of them, and two have the same name — Myers Park’s Chris James and Charlotte Christian’s Chris James.

One of them, Cuthbertson’s Duke Howell, is the father of one of the Charlotte region’s top players in recent history — former Sun Valley and UNC QB Sam Howell. Howell is set to become an NFL starter this fall in Washington.

▪ Here are the new area coaches: Matthew Reilly, Charlotte Catholic; James, Charlotte Christian; Drew Dayton, Charlotte Latin; Josh Williams, Garinger; J.T. Stone, Harding; DeShawn Baker, Hough; Matthew Montroy, Lake Norman Charter; James, Myers Park; Justin Hardin, A.L. Brown; Dustin Martin, Cannon School; Breon Holmes, Cox Mill; Brian Hinson, West Cabarrus; Lee Linville, South Iredell; Jaden Angle, Lincolnton; Howell, Cuthbertson; Sam Mobley, Parkwood

▪ We’re seeing large numbers of turnover in coaches every year. Some of it is low pay for long hours. Some of it all the additional work required, things like field maintenance and increased teaching loads. And some of it is a year-round schedule that never seems to slow down.

6. Can Justin Hardin make AL Brown great again?

Last May, the Kannapolis City School Board named Hardin the 17th Wonders head football coach in school history. He replaces Mike Newsome, who built a national power at Butler High. Newsome left Butler on a 31-game win streak and two state titles.

At Brown, his teams were 97-49 in 12 seasons with three league titles and four years with double-digit wins. But with businesses leaving the area and population shrinking, I’m not sure AL Brown can be the consistent state power it once was. So if Hardin — who played at Brown in the ‘90s and has a great reputation as head coach — can duplicate what Newsome did, I think he would be doing a good job.

Brown is not playing in a league of Mecklenburg County schools anymore, which is good, and when the state likely expands classifications in a few years, growing from four to as many as seven, Brown could end up in leagues and playoff brackets that are much easier for it to compete in.

7. Who’s the best player you’ve never heard of?

In MInt Hill, Independence High’s Quentin Reddish has quietly become a Power 5 talent. He’s 6-foot-3, 185 pounds and has offers from schools like Miami, N.C. State, Virginia and Wake Forest. He committed to Virginia Tech and will anchor the Patriots defense this season.

Last season, Reddish had 76 tackles, 15 passes defended and a fumble recovery.

8. Who is the best player in the Rock Hill area?

This season, we’re welcoming back S.C. schools in Lancaster and York Counties to The Observer’s coverage area. The S.C. schools will join those in Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln and Union Counties, all of which touch Mecklenburg County, to be eligible for coverage.

So who’s the top player in that S.C. region right now? Let’s go with Indian Land linebacker Timir Hickman-Collins, a 6-foot-1, 218-pound senior. A three-star recruit, Hickman-Collins committed to Florida State Sunday.

Also watch Turbo Richard from Rock Hill Northwestern, a 5-9, 182-pound senior running back.

9. When will “Talking Preps NC” return?

The streaming high school show of The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh will return on Tuesday, Aug. 15, and air each Tuesday after that. Start time is 8 p.m.

10. Name three teams that could make surprising runs?

Marvin Ridge: The Mavericks are 29-23 over the past five seasons and coming off a 5-6 finish in 2022. But 14 starters are back, including Air Force-bound QB Evan Medders. And Medders has a lot of talent around him. The Mavs will score and have a strong kicker in senior Dawson Jones, who’s committed to Army.

Northwest Cabarrus: The Trojans had an under-the-radar 10-2 season in 2022, but return 13 starters and 40 lettermen after doubling their 2021 win total. QB Alex Walker (2,457 yards, 19 TDs) is back with senior RB RayJay Waters (781 yards, 10 TDs) plus LB Jackson Forrest (72 tackles, eight sacks). This team is deep.

West Charlotte: Lions coach Sam Greiner is not shy talking about how this may his best team since leading Harding to a state title six years ago. There were lots of Power 5 coaches going to West Charlotte in the offseason, so apparently Greiner might have the talent to backup his bravado.