Football

Top returning NCHSAA football stat leaders in 2024: 3A Pass Catchers

HighSchoolOT is back with more football preview coverage in the spring. Today, a look at the best statistically returning pass catchers in the 3A classification.

Posted 2024-04-18T19:29:21+00:00 - Updated 2024-04-18T19:44:28+00:00

Joel Bryant

Throughout the month of April, we'll have some kind of football preview coverage released to HSOT Insiders each day.

Today is a look at the top statistically returning pass catchers in the 3A classification. These players could be wide receivers, tight ends, running backs, or any other kind of offensive weapon. The only requirement is that they had 30 receptions last year.

We have four sections: Yards/Game, Yards/Reception, Touchdowns/Game, and Touchdown Rate (touchdowns/reception). We are using these efficiency stats because the bulk numbers like total yards and total touchdowns can be deceiving and don't always correlate year-to-year.

Note: If your player's stats have not been published to MaxPreps or have not been sent to me, they are not going to be included below.

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Top Returning 3A Receiving Leaders: Yards per Game

Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 receptions to qualify: 30. Ties broken by total receiving yards.

Ian Graybeal, senior WR, Ashe County — 104.0 YPG
Jasiah Jones, senior WR, West Carteret — 88.9 YPG
Jamien Little, senior WR, Hickory — 85.8 YPG
Steven Murray, senior WR, Eastern Guilford — 85.0 YPG
Xavier Burnett, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson — 84.2 YPG
Sean Cartwight, senior WR, West Carteret — 84.0 YPG
Brian Rowe, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson — 81.8 YPG
Dominic Testa, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson (transfer from Hickory Ridge) — 81.3 YPG
Porter Branham, senior WR, Northwest Cabarrus — 78.1 YPG
Elijah Woodle, senior WR, Asheboro — 78.0 YPG
CJ Neely, senior WR, Dudley — 77.6 YPG
Nasir Newkirk, senior WR, Dudley — 74.9 YPG
Kobe Johnson, junior WR, Freedom — 72.9 YPG
Da'vius Johnson, senior WR, South Central — 70.2 YPG
Jayden Hill, senior WR, Lee County — 68.2 YPG

Finalized schedules for the 2024 North Carolina high school football season

Top Returning 3A Receiving Leaders: Yards per Reception

Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 receptions to qualify: 30. Ties broken by most receptions.

Nasir Newkirk, senior WR, Dudley — 22.0 Yds/Rec
Brian Rowe, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson — 21.3 Yds/Rec
CJ Neely, senior WR, Dudley — 21.2 Yds/Rec
Jamien Little, senior WR, Hickory — 19.6 Yds/Rec
Xavier Burnett, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson — 18.7 Yds/Rec (54 receptions)
Porter Branham, senior WR, Northwest Cabarrus — 18.7 Yds/Rec (46 receptions)
Michael Smith, senior WR, Harnett Central — 18.6 Yds/Rec
Quatavius Everette, senior WR, Scotland — 18.4 Yds/Rec
Kobe Johnson, junior WR, Freedom — 17.4 Yds/Rec
Koredell Bartley, senior WR, Dudley — 17.2 Yds/Rec
Steven Murray, senior WR, Eastern Guilford — 17.0 Yds/Rec
Dajuan Gibson, senior WR, Scotland — 16.9 Yds/Rec
Elijah Woodle, senior WR, Asheboro — 16.6 Yds/Rec
Ian Graybeal, senior WR, Ashe County — 16.3 Yds/Rec
Landon Culbreth, junior WR, Harnett Central — 16.2 Yds/Rec

Top Returning 3A Receiving Leaders: Touchdowns per Game

Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 receptions to qualify: 30. Ties broken by most touchdowns, then fewest receptions).

Steven Murray, senior WR, Eastern Guilford — 1.5 TD/Gm (16 TDs)
Jamien Little, senior WR, Hickory — 1.3 TD/Gm (20 TDs)
Brian Rowe, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson — 1.2 TD/Gm (15 TDs)
Nasir Newkirk, senior WR, Dudley — 1.1 TD/Gm (16 TDs)
Dominic Testa, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson (transfer from Hickory Ridge) — 1.1 TD/Gm (9 TDs)
CJ Neely, senior WR, Dudley — 1.0 TD/Gm (15 TDs)
Jasiah Jones, senior WR, West Carteret — 1.0 TD/Gm (11 TDs)
Kayden Lytle, senior WR, Freedom — 1.0 TD/Gm (10 TDs, 41 receptions)
Elijah Woodle, senior WR, Asheboro — 1.0 TD/Gm (10 TDs, 47 receptions)
Ian Graybeal, senior WR, Ashe County — 1.0 TD/Gm (10 TDs, 64 receptions)
Jackson Beam, senior WR, East Lincoln — 0.9 TD/Gm (10 TDs)
Kobe Johnson, junior WR, Freedom — 0.9 TD/Gm (9 TDs)
Xavier Burnett, senior WR, Jay M. Robinson — 0.8 TD/Gm (10 TDs)
Koredell Bartley, senior WR, Dudley — 0.7 TD/Gm (11 TDs)
Porter Branham, senior WR, Northwest Cabarrus — 0.7 TD/Gm (8 TDs)

2023-2024 North Carolina high school football coaching changes

Top Returning 3A Receiving Leaders: Touchdown Rate

This is the rate of total receiving touchdowns scored to number of receptions, it is designed to highlight the players with the biggest knack for key plays. Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 receptions to qualify: 30. Ties broken by most receptions, then yards per reception.