Related Articles
I hate to interrupt my release of the 2024 Position Rankings but this will be brief. Each year, the Shrine Bowl and North-South All-Star Games select a team of players that is supposed to be a collection of the best players in the state of South Carolina. And each year, there are players who are not selected who are every bit as good, if not better, than some of the players selected.
Now, the North-South all star teams get a small pass on this because of the limitations and rules placed on the selection process. Every region must be represented. So, lets say the best player in a really bad region happens to be a defensive back. He may not be one of the best in the state but the region has to be represeented so he is selected. That means that a player somewhere out there who deserves this honor is probably going to be left off because one spot at that position is now gone.
The Shrine Bowl, however, does not get a pass. This is supposed to be about the best players available and based on their performances for that season. That is a very debatable point. For instance, Apollos Cook of Airport is one of the state’s best wide receivers. He was not selected. What I was told by a staff member was that “he hasn’t performed this season.” Really? Is that what we are going with? Then tell me how you have running baacks on the team who have half of the production of other running backs available? So, it must NOT be based on this season’s production.
I get it, it is a difficult thing, selecting an all-star team. Kids are oging to get left off. I’ve been either a coach or analyst for more than three decades so I’ve seen it every year and I get it. But I want to mention some players from the Midlands that I feel were slighted and are very easily just as good or better than some of the players taken. This is not a slight on the player selected. There’s probably not a kid on that team not deserving of accolades. I’m just saying that there are some glaring omissions.
MIDLANDS SNUBS
QUARTERBACK: Can’t say there were any. The QBs they picked were very good and honestly, the 2023 class in the Midlands at QB is not really all-star quality. South Florence’s LaNorris Sellers would have been my first pick too, so good pick there. Spartanburg’s Raheim Jeter would not have been my second pick, but he’s still pretty damn good. So no arguements here. I do think a couple that should have been mentioned were Gaffney’s Grayson Loftis, but Gaffney had two other kids make it, and then Fort Dorchester’s Zolton Osborn should have been considered. Hillcrest’s Bennett Judy is another one. Sorry, I’m drifting outside of the Midlands.
RUNNING BACK: Uh…Jonah Norris of Lexington? Cooper Johns of River Bluff? Markell ?Townsend of AC Flora? Alias Graham-Woodberry of Gilbert? Any of those guys are just as good as the players selected and they only took two running backs.
WIDE RECEIVER: Apollos Cook should be on that team. Period. They dropped the ball on that one. They have one wide receiver who isn’t even the best wide
receiver on his team, which makes me wonder if the other one was even nominated by his coaches. The group they got is good, but Cook should be on this team.
OFFENSIVE LINE: AC Flora’s Kendarious Kinard should be there. I liked the OW pick with Pringle. He’s solid.
DEFENSIVE LINE: They got a good group from the
Midlands but…How about Jawaine Gleaton of Wagener-Salley. Yeh, he’s 1A, so what. Kid is an animal with 11 tfls and 6 sacks. I like AJ Colter of River Bluff and AJ Johnson of Dutch Fork. Dutch Fork, I get it, they already had the limit of two players on there.
LINEBACKER: This is a position that they missed on the Midlands. Mainly, with Andrew Jackson’s Fuller Sims. Kid is one of the top linebackers in the state, in my opinion. Has 80 tackles on the season with three interceptions. Watch his film. Hat to the ball on every freaking play. Big miss. Chanderl Perry of Dutch Fork is Shrine Bowl caliber, but, again, two player max from a team hurt him. David Wilson of Spring Valley. has 90 tackles on the season. Very good range and gets over trash and to the pile. Miss.
DEFENSIVE BACK: Go figure this one out. Lakewood’s Brandon Cisse. Good enough for NC State, but not for our Shrine Bowl? I don’t know whether to laugh out loud or puke. I’ll throw another 1A guy at you; Cam Davis of Wagener-Salley. Pure athlete. 40 tackles, 2 for loss and an intercption and Oh, by the way, 930 yards rushing and 330 yards passing so you get a back up RB or QB for free when you take him as a DB. I also think Fairfield Central’s Donovan Watkins could have been taken.40 tackles, 2 INTs and oh, by the way, 500 yards receiving on offense.
Some of these guys will get picked up by North-South, hopefully, But if they don’t, I can guarantee you there are other options. I am involved with evaluations and selections on the 2022 Carolina Bowl and can guarantee you with the coach we have and the people involved in this, there will be no politics and the best available will get invites.
