Observer's Top 25s: Missed it by that much...

The easy part of picking the Top 25 college prospects in North and South Carolina (we ran our preseason lists in today’s Observer) is ranking the first 15 or so in each state. Then it gets tough. By the time I got to the 23 to 25 spots, I had about a dozen contenders for each list.

You know who made it, but here are ten of the players who just missed in each state:

NORTH CAROLINA: South Stanly S Detric Allen, Weddington QB Anthony Boone, Providence WR Brandon Braxton, Charlotte Christian LB Kelby Brown, SE Raleigh QB Gabe Henderson, Raleigh Sanderson WR Mat James, Lenoir Hibriten LB Darius Lipford, Northern Guilford CB James Scales, Wadesboro Anson DT Tra Thomas and Shelby Crest CB Reggie Wilkins.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Rock Hill South Pointe RB Quinten Darby, Bamberg-Erhardt DE Justin Henderson, Piedmont Woodmont DB Okoye Houston, Duncan Byrnes WR Jazz King, Duncan Byrnes DB Zach Miller, Duncan Byrnes WR Torian Richardson, , Spartanburg Boiling Springs OL Logan Stewart, Bennettsville Marlboro Co. DT Thomas Teal, Spartanburg Boiling Springs QB Dylan Thompson and Spartanburg LB Andre Whitmire.

We'll be doing a postseason Top 50 as well. Any of these players, with a strong senior year, could wind up on his state's list.

Go to these links for a look at the new NC Top 25 and SC Top 25 lists.

--Stan Olson

And now a bit more vacation, but I'll be back. Stay in touch at solson@charlotteobserver.com.