Yahoo Sports Corvian’s Noah Best, his team’s ‘Deebo,’ wins Observer football player of the week
Corvian Community School’s Noah Best, The Observer’s high school football player of the week, struggled to find words when he found out he won Sunday afternoon.
“Man, I just was not expecting this at all,” he said. “Coming from the school I did, I didn’t get any (playing time) and didn’t start at all. Low-key, I doubted myself a little bit. I didn’t feel like I was being respected at all, and now to have people thinking about me this way, well, it just makes me feel really good.”
Best was nominated for the media company’s weekly award after helping his team to a 42-0 win over Bishop McGuinness Oct. 4.
In that game, he rushed six times for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a 27-yard pass and had five tackles on defense.
After that performance, he won a week-long vote among Observer readers.
“He’s a special player,” Corvian coach Chris Amill said of Best, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior. “We call him our Deebo Samuel. He just does it all. He’s a great return man, for kicks and punts. He’s a solid corner. Offensively, he’s a do-it-all guy. We put him all over.”
This season, Best has helped Corvian — a northeast Charlotte school near Mallard Creek High — to a school-best 7-0 start and a top 10 ranking among all N.C. 1A teams.
“We always knew we were going to do something special this season,” Best said. “Undefeated is the goal and I honestly think we can do that. We just have a good group of guys, a good bond. It’s not even a team; it’s more like a family. Everybody on our team views each other like family. That means a lot to me.”
Two years of doubt
For a little while, Best wasn’t sure if he would still be playing football right now.
In two years at Lake Norman Charter, Best said he got one start.
As a freshman he caught one pass for four yards. As a sophomore, he caught five passes and ran the ball 15 times. He said he got to start the final game of his sophomore year due to injury.
And he said he really began to think about quitting.
“It was playing time,” he said. “I didn’t get in at all. It made me feel like I really (stunk). I knew how good of a player I was and I believed in myself. I would always say to myself that I should get in, but people would say I’m crazy.”
Best transferred to Corvian before his junior year and said the “environment was completely different.”
“I wasn’t used to being surrounded by people who cared for me and cared for my dreams,” he said. “It allowed me to play better for sure.”
Best ran 55 times for 389 yards and three touchdowns as a junior at Corvian. He caught a pass and had nearly 400 yards in kick and punt returns, plus 34 tackles and an interception on defense.
More importantly, he became a key part of the team.
On to college now?
This season, Best has rushed for 450 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 11 yards per carry. He’s caught 12 passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns. He’s got nearly 300 return yards, 19 tackles and a sack.
He’s also attracting college attention.
Amill, his coach, said Division I schools like Campbell and Austin Peay are showing serious interest.
“I think that interest will only keep picking up as time goes on,” Amill said. “Everything is so different with the (NCAA transfer) portal. Recruiting is just different. A few years ago, before the portal, a player like him would have several D1 offers.”
Amill said Best has a rare explosiveness for a high school player and can play well almost wherever you put him.
“I’ve had coaches say they’re just going to recruit him as a football player,” Amill said. “They see him playing safety, corner, slot receiver or running back. He’s just a tremendous football player, but in this day and age, you can handpick a player from another college that has experience. But that’s how I view Noah. He can do it all.”
Best said hearing those types of compliments makes him feel like he made the right decision to stick it out through all the disappointment of his first two high school years.
“It honestly feels amazing,” he said. “I always knew I could be that guy, and I’m not going to say I am surprised at all but...it’s a blessing for real, and I’m glad I stuck with the process and didn’t compare myself to others. I controlled what I could control. God is real, for real.”
Previous winners
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Week 1: Carson Clutter, Charlotte Latin
Week 2: Sean Brady, Hough High School
Week 3: Fernando Zelaya, Olympic High School
Week 4: Cameron Cyr, Hough High School
Week 5: Jayden Jones, Independence
Week 6: Cameron Johnson, Corvian Community School
Week 7: Titus Ivory III, Charlotte Latin
