Last week we began a closer look at the state of North Carolina by focusing on the Greensboro/High Point/Guilford County district. Today we’re going to move just a little bit west and look at Winston-Salem and the surrounding areas.

Winston-Salem is the fifth-largest city in the state of North Carolina, with a population of over 240,000. Where there are big populations, there are generally good football players to be found. While Winston-Salem doesn’t produce quite as many prospects as the Greensboro area, and certainly not as many as Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham, it does put out enough players that it can’t be ignored.

You also have to consider the proximity of Winston-Salem to Blacksburg. It’s only an hour and 58 minutes according to a Google search, but in reality the trip is a little shorter than that. Outside of Roanoke, which doesn’t produce very many recruits these days (seriously, what the heck happened to guys like Lee Suggs and the Barbers?), Winston-Salem is the closest major city to Blacksburg.

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