The Greatest Players in SC History

Related Articles

Monday Morning Quarterback: Round 1 State Playoffs

November 7, 2022

2022 All-Midlands Players of the Year Awards

November 1, 2022

Friday Night Feats: Week Eleven

October 29, 2022

In 2015, I released the Top 150
Greatest High School Football Players in SC history and it brought up a lot of
good debate. It also brought up a lot of good names that should have been on
the list and after going back and researching, they have been added. When that
first list was compiled, I was under a deadline with a news outlet to get it
done and in haste, omitted a couple of names I KNEW should have been on there.
They, too, have been added.

This is not an easy list to do. It
requires a lot of research, a lot of hours of talking to people – old coaches,
old referees, and old fans. And if you notice someone missing that perhaps
should be here, don’t worry. I am still working on this list as I feel it is an
ongoing project. I’m still finding some guys from the 1930s and before that
need to be added.

For now, here is what I have with a little commentary on each position. This is 300 players and I’m sure this list will be at 400 by the year’s end as I finish. more research. *These are by position and in alphabetical order. This is about these guys’ HIGH SCHOOL playing career, not what they did post-grad.

The defensive backs were a very
strong position, as you can see from the numbers. We’ve had so many great
athletes play in the secondary, but I feel like the best had to be between Rick
Sanford (Northwestern) or Byron Maxwell (Fort Dorchester). When I was in 9th
grade, I had two full page photos from a college football magazine hanging on
my wall…one was John Forcade, QB from Ole Miss; the other was Rick Sanford from
USC and if I remember correctly, he was returning a punt.

PLAYER	POS.	TEAM
Sheldon Brown	DB	Lewisville
Fred Bennett	DB	Manning
Lewis “Lukie” Brunson	DB	Florence
CJ Byrd	DB	North Augusta
Sadat Chambers	DB	Central
Dexter Coakley	DB	Wando
John Fulton	DB	Manning
Stephon Gilmore	DB	South Pointe
Derrick Hamilton	DB	Dillon
Michael Hamlin	DB	Lamar
Jonathan Hefney	DB	Rock Hill
Jeff Hipp	DB	Brookland-Cayce
Devonte Holloman	DB	South Pointe
Chris Hope	DB	Rock Hill
Jamacia Jackson	DB	Sumter
Demario Jeffery	DB	Columbia
Michael Jenkins	DB	Cross
Tim Jennings	DB	Orangeburg-Wilkinson
Jonathan Joseph	DB	Rock Hill
Terry Kinard	DB	Sumter
Byron Maxwell	DB	Ft Dorchester
Monty Means	DB	Union
Prince Miller	DB	Byrnes
DJ Moore	DB	Broome
Josh Norman	DB	Greenwood
Wayne Page	DB	Lake View
Ron Parker	DB	Beaufort
Christ Payne	DB	Columbia
Pierson Prioleau	DB	Macedonia
Mike Reid	DB	Broome
Antwan Robinson	DB	Lewisville
Jamie Robinson	DB	Northwestern
Rick Sanford	DB	Northwestern
Donnie Shell	DB	Whitmire
KO Simpson	DB	Rock Hill
Cameron Smith	DB	Westwood
DJ Swearinger	DB	Greenwood

The defensive ends is a talented
group, with a lot of guys who made it to the league. But I don’t think there is
any doubt that the top dog in this group was Jadaveon Clowney from South
Pointe. He was a man among boys, and I predicted after his freshman year of
high school he would be the No. 1 draft pick when he entered the NFL draft.

John Abraham	DE	Lamar
Daquan Bowers	DE	Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Jadavion Clowney	DE	South Pointe
Carlos Dunlap	DE	Ft Dorchester
Shawn Elliot	DE	Camden
Shaun Ellis	DE	Westside
George Gause	DE	Conway
Malliciah Goodman	DE	West Florence
Javon Kinlaw	DE	Goose Creek
Cliff Matthews	DE	Cheraw
Anthony McDaniel	DE	Keenan
Corey Miller	DE	Byrnes
Sam Montgomery	DE	Greenwood
Nathan Pepper	DE	Greenville
Zacch Pickens	DE	TL Hanna
Robert Quin	DE	Ft Dorchester
Richard Seymour	DE	Lower Richland
Jim Stuckie	DE	Airport
Devin Taylor	DE	Beaufort
Lawrence Timmons	DE	Wilson
Moe Thompson	DE	Stratford
Dekota Watson	DE	South Aiken

The defensive line group has some
strong guys in it. I have to say that Courtney Brown is the one that stands out
to me as the best of them. Many will say Haynesworth and many will say William
Perry. The truth is, when William Perry played at Aiken, he was actually a
better OL than he was DL. I remember because I played against him four years.

Courtney Brown	DL	Macedonia
Marion Campbell	DL	Chester
Gage Cervenka	DL	Emerald
Jeff Coleman	DL	Gaffney
Adrian Dingle	DL	Holly Hill Roberts
Marty Dye	DL	Greenwood
Poona Ford	DL	Hilton Head
Ricky Hagood	DL	Wren
Norman Hand	DL	Walterboro
Albert Haynesworth	DL	Hartsville
Albert Huggins	DL	Orangeburg-Wilkinson
Shaq Lawson	DL	Daniel
Langston Moore	DL	James Island
Adam Patterson	DL	Richland Northeast
Michael Dean Perry	DL	Aiken
William Perry	DL	Aiken
Cleveland Pinkney	DL	Sumter
Robert Porcher	DL	Cainhoy
Kelcy Quarles	DL	Greenwood
Ricky Sapp	DL	Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Dorrell Scott	DL	Ridge View
Eric Sullivan	DL	Laurens
Darwin Walker	DL	Walterboro
Dakota Watson	DL	South Aiken
Cedric Williams	DL	James Island

I won’t to pretend to know
everything about the kicking game. And I’m not gonna try to even pick a “best”.
But I know that Will Caison kicked a lot of field goals, Marty Simpson kicked
the longest up until just a few years ago and Dale Hatcher was a weapon as a
punter.

Will Caison	SP	Walterboro
Dale Hatcher	SP	Cheraw
Reid Morton	SP	Irmo
Harry Newsome	SP	Cheraw
Marty Simpson	SP	Spring Valley
Nelson Welch	SP	Greer

Another strong group, the
linebackers. I guess if I had to pick the top guy I’d say Harry Carson from
Wilson/McClenaghan. He was a beast from everyone I talked to that watched him
back then. I’ve seen most of these guys on this list myself and I can tell you
the hardest hitter I’ve seen of any of them was Allen Patrick of Conway.

Robert Ayers	LB	Marlboro County
Ben Boulware	LB	TL Hanna
Peter Bouleware	LB	Spring Valley
bobby Brown	LB	Spartanburg
Rodney Brown	LB	Burke
Harry Carson	LB	Wilson/McClenaghan
Justin Durant	LB	Wilson
JD Fuller	LB	Clinton
Ricky Grant	LB	Greenwood
Ricardo Hurley	LB	Greenwood
Greg Jennings	LB	Lexington
Mike Jones	LB	CA Johnson
Tim Jones	LB	Rock Hill
Levon Kirkland	LB	Lamar
Charlie Langford	LB	Lexington
Ed McDaniel	LB	Batesburg-Leesville
Roger McIntosh	LB	Gaffney
Corey Miller	LB	Central
Lawrence Mitchell	LB	Conway
Christian Miller	LB	Spring Valley
Allen Patrick	LB	Conway
Jermaine Petty	LB	Chapman
James Seawright	LB	Hillcrest (Simpsonville)
Bruce Taylor	LB	Myrtle Beach
Andre Waters	LB	Lake View
Kendrick Taylor	LB	Marlboro County
Jim Youngblood	LB	Jonesville

he offensive line guys had some
standouts for sure. It is so hard to select them without actually seeing film
or having watched them. I’m not sure who will agree or disagree with this but I
like Thomas Austin of Camden or Kevin Long of Summerville as the top guys. I
guess we could go back to Art Shell, who I never even saw film of prior to NFL
but from everyone I talked to (the old guys) they all said he was the best.

Thomas Austin	OL	Camden
Zack Bailey	OL	Summerville
Alex Baron	OL	Orangeburg-Wilkinson
Kevin Breedlove	OL	Daniel
A.J. Cann	OL	Bamberg-Ehrhardt
Raymond Chavious	OL	Silver Bluff
Marion Dukes	OL	Pickens
Dustin Frye	OL	Summerville
Clifton Geathers	OL	Carvers Bay
Leon Hart	OL	Spring Valley
Jabari Levey	OL	Berkeley
Kevin Long	OL	Summerville
Clay Matthews, Sr	OL	Charleston
Richard McCollough	OL	Loris
Quinton Richardson	OL	Spring Valley
Victor Riley	OL	Swansea
Art Shell	OL	Bonds-Wilson
Brandon Shell	OL	Goose Creek
Marquese Stubbs	OL	Marlboro County
Eric Taylor	OL	Spartanburg
Pete Tinsley	OL	Spartanburg
James Thompson	OL	Sumter
Quinton Washington	OL	Timberland
Travelle Wharton	OL	Greenville
Del Wilkes	OL	Irmo
Frank Wright	OL	Greenwood
Eric Young	OL	Union
Kyle Young	OL	Daniel

This is a long list because we’ve
had so many stellar athletes play the position. I don’t think anyone will doubt
that Freddie Solomon is going to be listed as the best. The only problem I have
with that is that he only played one year at Sumter – his only year as a QB.
There was no doubting his prowess but if I was going to go with a “career” guy
I would have to say Shuler Bentley, Justin Worely (look at the stats and
success) or Roger Woolbright.

Chris Alford	QB	McBee
Logan Bailey	QB	Chapin
Dwayne Bates	QB	Silver Bluff
Shuler Bentley	QB	Byrnes
Sinclair Cannon	QB	Greer
Toby Cates	QB	Chapman
Rusty Charpia	QB	Midland Valley
Marty Crosby	QB	James Island
Todd Cunningham	QB	Irmo
Perry Cuda	QB	Summerville
Woodrow Dantzler	QB	Orangeburg-Wilkinson
Chas Dodd	QB	Byrnes
Jack Douglas	QB	Garrett
Armanti Edwards	QB	Greenwood
Bruce Ellington	QB	Berkeley
Rickey Foggy	QB	Laurens
Steve Fuller	QB	Spartanburg
Everette Golson	QB	Myrtle Beach
Shawn Graves	QB	Marion
Billy Green	QB	Irmo
Andy Hall	QB	Cheraw
Joe Hamilton	QB	Macedonia
CoCo Hillary	QB	Strom Thurmond
Ira Hillary	QB	Strom Thurmond
Corey Jenkins	QB	Dreher
Brett Jodie	QB	Lexington
Kentrell Jones	QB	Gaffney
Preston Jones	QB	T.L. Hanna
Dakereon Joyner	QB	Fort Dorchester
Erik Kimrey	QB	Dutch Fork
Don King	QB	Anderson
Derion Kendrick	QB	South Pointe
Willy Korn	QB	Byrnes
Mark Logan	QB	Greenwood
James “Jim” Maxwell	QB	Johnsonville
Avery McCall	QB	Dillon
Eric McCollum	QB	Camden
Allen Mitchell	QB	Batesburg-Leesville
Richard Mounce	QB	Blythewood
Cam Newton	QB	Marlboro County
Syvelle Newton	QB	Marlboro County
Jacob Park	QB	Stratford
Jimmy Pegler	QB	Spring Valley
Phil Petty	QB	Boiling Springs
Levi Raines	QB	Airport
Tony Rice	QB	Woodruff
Wally Richardson	QB	Sumter
Mason Rudolph	QB	Northwestern
Austin Scott	QB	Spartanburg
Jimmy Skipper	QB	Brookland-Cayce
Mark Smith	QB	York
Robert Smith	QB	Woodland
Freddie Solomon	QB	Sumter
Josh Stepp	QB	Pelion
Tommy Suggs	QB	Lamar
Charlie Waters	QB	North Augusta
Rod Wilson	QB	Cross
Rodney Williams	QB	Irmo
Marty Woolbright	QB	Chapin
Roger Woolbright	QB	Chapin
Justin Worley	QB	Northwestern

This will be short. Demetris Summers
of Lexington was hands-down the best running back to play in the state at the
high school level. He is still 16th on all-time list on national records and
when he set the records, it was Emmitt Smith who he surpassed.

Mitch Bagwell	RB	Brookland-Cayce
Brandon Bennett	RB	Riverside
Ryan Bethea	RB	Richland Northeast
Terry Brown	RB	Blackville-Hilda
Jeff Burris	RB	Northwestern
James “JC” Caroline	RB	Booker T. Washington
Slade Carroll	RB	Lexington
Shon Carson	RB	Lake City
Casper Carter	RB	Brookland-Cayce
Corey Carter	RB	Ninety-Six
Matt Colburn	RB	Dutch Fork
Stephen Davis	RB	Spartanburg
Mike Dingle	RB	Berkeley
King Dixon	RB	Laurens
Anthony Downs	RB	Berea
Lewis Elliot	RB	Gaffney
Andre Ellington	RB	Berkeley
Tavian Feaster	RB	Spartanburg
Jimmy Fleming	RB	East Clarendon
Ailym Ford	RB	West Florence
Benny Galloway	RB	Easley
Mike Gasparato	RB	Dutch Fork
Harold Green	RB	Stratford
Ike Green	RB	Lake City
Ikent Haggood	RB	Easley
Shelly Hammonds	RB	Barnwell
Dick Hendley	RB	Greenville
I.M. Hipp	RB	Chapin
Robert Hunneycut	RB	Wade Hampton
Devito Johnson	RB	Batesburg-Leesville
Greg Jones	RB	Beaufort
Vernell Jones	RB	Lake View
Jeff Keisler	RB	Gilbert
Rockarius King	RB	Timberland
Brian Kingsboro	RB	Clinton
Rodney Kinlaw	RB	Stratford
Marcus Lattimore	RB	Byrnes
Kevin Long	RB	Clinton
Stan Manning	RB	Dillon
Chris Massey	RB	Cheraw
Tracy McGriff	RB	Lancaster
Reggie Merriweather	RB	North Augusta
Marvin Montgomery	RB	Hillcrest (Dalzell)
Stanley Morgan	RB	Easley
Ryamond Priester	RB	Allendale-Fairfax
Percy Reeves	RB	Irmo
Sherman Scott	RB	Batesburg-Leesville
Aubrey Shaw	RB	Hartsville
Travis Small	RB	Cheraw
Jumpity Springster	RB	Stratford
Demetrius Summers	RB	Lexington
Tramel Terry	RB	Goose Creek
Brice Thompson	RB	Dutch Fork
Quincy Walker	RB	Fairfield-Central
Derek Watson	RB	Palmetto
Greg Welch	RB	Hillcrest (Dalzell)
Troy Williamson	RB	Silver Bluff

The best here in my opinion was
either Bennie Cunningham form Seneca or Moe Thompson from Stratford. I guess if
I had to pick one I’d say Thompson, as I saw him play live.

Ben Coates	TE	Greenwood
Chris Corley	TE	Irmo
Bennie Cunningham	TE	Seneca
Justice Cunningham	TE	Central
Marshall McFadden	TE	Lamar
Willie Scott	TE	Newberry
Moe Thompson	TE	Stratford
Ben Watson	TE	Northwestern

This is probably the hardest
position to nail down a top guy because there were so many good ones. Overall,
I’m going to have to say that Roscoe Crosby of Union was the best I ever saw
because he had the complete package. The best hands I ever saw to this day were
Tymere Zimmerman from Marlboro County.

Charles Ben	WR	Calhoun County
Michael Bouleware	WR	Spring Valley
Robert Brooks	WR	Greenwood
Curt Brown	WR	St. Johns
Jaron Brown	WR	Cheraw
Mario Brown	WR	Greenwood
Troy Brown	WR	Blackville-Hilda
Martavius Bryant	WR	TL Hanna
Jerry Butler	WR	Ware Shoals
Roscoe Crosby	WR	Union
Quinshad Davis	WR	Gaffney
Zola Davis	WR	Burke
Bryan Edwards	WR	Conway
Bobby Engram	WR	Camden
Kelvin Grant	WR	Camden
AJ Green	WR	Summerville
Dupree Hart	WR	Northwestern
Junior Hemingway	WR	Conway
Derrick Higgins	WR	Lamar
Ira Hillary	WR	Strom Thurmond
DeAndre Hopkins	WR	D.W. Daniel
Eric Huggins	WR	Conway
Anthony Hunter	WR	Union
Alshon Jefferey	WR	Calhoun County
Keith Jennings	WR	Summerville
Robert Joseph	WR	Northwestern
Xavier Leggette	WR	Mullins
Charone Peake	WR	Dorman
Jim “Ed” Rice	WR	TL Hanna
Sidney Rice	WR	Gaffney
Durrell Robinson	WR	Byrnes
Shaq Roland	WR	Lexington
Deebo Samuel	WR	Chapman
Bryan Scott	WR	Darlington
Shi Smith	WR	Union
Duce Staley	WR	Airport
Justin Stepp	WR	Pelion
Mike Williams	WR	Lake Marion
Roddy White	WR	James Island
JJ Arcega-Whiteside	WR	Dorman
Tymere Zimmerman	WR	Marlboro County

If you think there is a name missing that should be on here, email me at scvarsity@sc.rr.com and let me know who it is. I can do the research on them.