How Rolesville QB Braden Atkinson put himself on recruiting radar: ‘He hasn’t peaked’

Braden Atkinson continues rolling up big numbers as Rolesville High’s season marches on. The Rams’ quarterback joined the 3,000-yard club last week with a 371-yard performance, bumping his total to 3,185 with 40 touchdowns.

Although the junior is a second-year starter, it wasn’t long ago he didn’t strike fear in Triangle football.

At the start of the 2022 season there were doubts — including his own, he admits — that an untested sophomore coming off torn knee ligaments could direct the Rams’ high-powered offense. The injury limited his 2021 junior varsity experience to two games.

If we think back to the 2022 preseason, wide receiver Noah Rogers’ star power led the Rams. Mr. Rogers’ elite neighborhood included a commitment to Ohio State as North Carolina’s top-ranked high school wide receiver.

So, it was natural to ask Rogers in the preseason about questions surrounding his projected quarterback.

“Don’t worry about Braden,” Rogers said. “He’s going to be good.”

Rogers, a low-key guy, undersold his prediction. Atkinson was more than good, throwing for 1,846 yards and 20 touchdowns. Rolesville finished 2022 as the NCHAA 4A East Region runner-up with a 10-4 record.

But in 2023, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has been prolific.

“His ball placement has been impeccable,” Rolesville coach Ranier Rackley said. “He doesn’t make mistakes.”

In the NCHSAA 4A playoffs, the Rams are coming off a 49-13 second-round win against No. 17 seed Wake Forest. Atkinson was 27-of-32 passing without an interception among his 371 yards and two TDs. His season completion percentage is .746, 209 of 280 with only four thefts.

Top-seeded Rolesville (11-1), the Northern 4A Conference champion, faces No. 25 seed Fuquay-Varina (6-6) in the third-round at 7 p.m. Friday on the Rams’ field.

The Bengals, led by North Carolina-commit Malcolm Ziglar, snuck into the playoffs, but they’ve pulled off to back-to-back road upsets, defeating No. 6 Fayetteville Jack Britt, 17-9, and No. 24 Wilmington Ashley, 10-7.

Atkinson said earlier this week he was unaware the prediction Rogers gave a reporter, but he noted Rogers did plenty to bolster his preseason confidence.

“I have a lot of love for him,” Atkinson said. “He told me at the start of the season there would be a lot of talk about me, ‘but don’t listen to the outside noise.’ He said he had a lot of trust in me.”

Another question entering 2022 included Atkinson mastering Rolesville’s offense. The Rams adjusted from a dual-threat quarterback in 2021 with Byrum Brown — who is now South Florida’s starter as a redshirt freshman — to Atkinson as a drop-back passer. In 2021, Brown’s style led Rolesville to the NCHSAA 4A state runner-up finish. Atkinson watched and learned from the sideline while rehabbing his knee.

“The injury made me focus on absorbing knowledge,” he said. “I learned a lot from Byrum. When he came off the field, he’d tell me what he saw that he liked and what he didn’t like.”

Atkinson’s ability to read defenses has allowed the 2023 Rams to maintain their run-pass threat. Depending on what Atkinson reads from a shotgun formation, he hands off the ball or rolls out to deliver a quick pass. The result has been balance.

Junior running back Devon Thomas has carried 172 times for 1,968 yards and 30 touchdowns. The Rams have relied on Thomas after NC State-bound senior Isaiah Jones suffered an ankle surgery that required season-ending surgery.

Another 2023 challenge Atkinson met was he produced without two graduated seniors gone to Division I campuses — Rogers and Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland). He opened this season with new cast of receivers, and the passing totals the first three contests were under 200 yards and the fourth was 201.

But then things clicked in the fifth game with 258 against Athens Drive. With the next five dates in conference play, he threw for 301 against Wakefield; Millbrook, 418; Knightdale, 360; Wake Forest, 513; and Heritage, 238.

Despite substitutes taking over the in the fourth quarter, Atkinson’s five-game conference average was 356.4 yards per game, with 20 touchdowns and two interceptions. With as many as four games remaining if the Rams advance to the 4A state final, do the math. Atkinson can finish with a 4,000-yard season.

“The (first) Wake Forest game was his best,” Rackley said. “His passing was musical. He threw some NFL passes.”

Through 12 games, junior Jaeden Alford (6-0, 180) leads the team with 76 catches for 1,548 yards and 19 touchdowns. Sophomore Gavin Waddell (6-0, 165) has 56 for 904 and eight TDs. The third-leading receiver is junior Adrian Silver Jr. with 29 receptions, 459 yards and four touchdowns.

Atkinson’s accurate passing allowed new offensive coordinator Mike Holderman to employ sophisticated timing patterns, but the scheme only works if the receivers run precise routes before they turn to find the ball already delivered to a spot.

“That’s what I love about my guys,” Atkinson said.

Dan Fouts, the Chargers Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who mastered Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Coryell’s Air Coryell timing patterns, would like what he sees from Atkinson.

So far, Atkinson has drawn limited recruiting interest. He has offers from Miami of Ohio and Bethune-Cookman. Duke has invited him to watch three games, and last weekend he was a guest of No. 18-ranked James Madison (10-0) in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Rackley believes scouts should have seen enough by now.

“There were people who doubted him last year, so it’s truly rewarding to see where he’s at now,” Rackley said. “Scouts talk about size with kids, but he has ‘IT.’ And he hasn’t peaked.”