Local Mint Hill-Matthews High School Football Top 5 Athletes

1. Anthony Carter, Tackle, Butler 

Making a legendary John Madden selection for the top honors. At 6’5″ and listed at 301 pounds, he is an outstanding lineman who is a high level recruit. He is athletic with a college style frame, excellent blocking skills, great size with both quickness and agility. He is the No. 23 ranked recruit in North Carolina in the current Class of 2020. Carter has many offers which include Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Texas A&M, and West Virginia.

2.  Tyson Clawson, Defensive End, Linebacker,Tight End, Independence

Clawson 6′ 2″, 220 pound junior play maker for the Patriots who continues to develop physically made a huge impact last season as a sophomore from both sides of the ball and should be outstanding in 2019. Clawson averaged six tackles per game, including 13.5 sacks for the season and 10 quarterback hurries, along with 23 solo tackles. Currently the talented youngster who will be a junior this season is a 3-star recruit ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2021.

3. Jamal Worthy, Running Back, Butler

The 6’1″, 210 pound senior who is a hard charging runner split reps last season in a talented backfield where he led the team in rushing yardage with a solid combination of using his size and speed. He also possess excellent vision when running with the football and if he breaks out into the open field he is very difficult to catch and bring down. Worthy is another 3-star recruit who should be attracting more offers as he could easily become the leading rushing running back in the Southwestern 4A Conference and potentially in the entire area.

4. Brian Grier, Linebacker, Rocky River 

The Ravens 6’0″, 225 pound senior middle linebacker is a solid wall on defense. He plugs holes quickly using his speed, size, tenacity, and nose for the football. Grier is coming off an excellent 2018 season and is expected to play a major role in stopping opponents rushing game. We believe he should be attracting more attention from recruiters this season. Grier had 67 solo tackles, 31 assists for a total of 98 tackles, averaging 12.3 per game in eight games, including 2 interceptions, 1 fumble and 1 touchdown.

5. Shai Wheeler, Wide Receiver, Independence

Wheeler only at 5’9″ and 160 pounds is a senior speedster with good hands and excellent on the field vision gaining extra yards after making a catch. He had 610 all purpose yards in nine games last season. His stats include 40 catches for 582 yards, an average of 14.6 yards per reception, 64.7 yards per game, 51 yards was his longest pass play and contributed 8 touchdowns offensively for the Patriots.

Honorable Mention: 

Trey Richburg, Tackle, Defensive End, Butler, Kalil Alexander, Linebacker, Rocky River, Omar Zazueta, Linebacker, Independence, Korey Hailey, Quarterback, Rocky River, Trevor Bryan, Wide Receiver, Independence, Korion Sharpe, Tackle, Rocky River.