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The Midseason Player-Position rankings are an updated version to our Top 100 List, broken down by position. As stated when the original rankings came out, the list would change throughout the season as the senior film came in and it certainly has changed. We will do one more revision in post season for the final position rankings.
The defensive back position is the deepest position in the Midlands and the group we have in this Top Ten is absolutely stellar. Brandon Cisse of Lakewood heads the list and the NC State Commitment has had a good season. Cisse has a high football IQ and is as good a coverage guy as anyone in the state. Landon Danley of Dutch Fork is a P5 talent with small school offers. He’s long, rangy and is physical in run support from the safety position. I cannot understand why no P5 guys have pulled the trigger on this kid. He’s got 27 tackles on the season with 4 for loss and 2 interceptions. Donovan Watkins of Fairfield Central is a pure athlete. He’s solid as a coverage corner and one of the Midlands leading receivers on offense with 411 all-purpose yards. He’s got 36 tackles on defense and 1 interception. Cameron Davis of Wagener-Salley may be the most underrated of this group. He’s got 34 tackles and 2 for loss to go along with 2 intercptions. Add to that he’s got 1300 yards of total offense with 15 touchdowns, playing both ways. Dylan Locklear of Camden has 30 tackles and is a strong run support guy. He’s got 6 PBUs on the year but he plays the run like a linebacker. Jordan Chestnut of Spring Valley began the season as one of our top DBs and is still there in the mix. He’s got 2 interceptions and 36 tackles through six games and is a strong coverage corner. Zyler Gamble of Sumter is a strong candidate to continue moving up this list. He’s got 41 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack and 2 interceptions on the year, one of the strongest defenders on the Sumter defense. Aiport’s Kendell Strohman is a new addition to the DB list. He began the season as a wide receiver and part time on defense but has turned into a valuble asset on defense. He’s got 29 tackles, 4 for loss and 2 interceptions on the season. He’s got good range and breaks on the ball with excellent transition speed. Jadyn Johnson of Brookland-Cayce is another very underrated player. He’s a full time starter on both sides of the football but on defense, he’s a physical, aggressive open field tackler. He’s got 49 tackles on the season. This kid is 6’0, 190 with excellent speed. He’s got some FCS and DII offers but he is a G5 talent easily. Andrew Jackson’s Cullen Ussery is a vacume on his side of the field, leading the Midlands with 6 interceptions. He’s got 37 tackles and the last two games has gotten less than 3 targets his way. JVon Mack of Dutch Fork is another solid coverage guy. He’s got three interceptions on the year with 24 tackles. Along with Danley, it is difficult to complete a pass in the deep third of this defense. Lexington’s Chris Frye has been a surprising player this year. He has 40 tacles, third on the team, 2 for loss, a sack and 2 interceptions on the season. He’s got very good range and quick breaks.
| TOP 2023 DEFENSIVE BACKS – MID SEASON | ||||||
| 1 | CISSE | BRANDON | DB | 5’11 | 160 | LAKEWOOD |
| 2 | DANLEY | LANDON | DB | 6’3 | 190 | DUTCH FORK |
| 3 | WATKINS | DONOVAN | DB | 5’10 | 170 | FAIRFIELD CENTRAL |
| 4 | DAVIS | CAMERON | DB | 5’10 | 170 | WAGENER-SALLEY |
| 5 | LOCKLEAR | DYLAN | DB | 5’11 | 165 | CAMDEN |
| 6 | CHESTNUT | JORDAN | DB | 6’0 | 170 | SPRING VALLEY |
| 7 | GAMBLE | ZYLER | DB | 5’11 | 175 | SUMTER |
| 8 | STROHMAN | KENDELL | DB | 6’2 | 165 | AIRPORT |
| 9 | JOHNSON | JADYN | DB | 6’0 | 190 | BROOKLAND-CAYCE |
| 10 | USSERY | CULLEN | DB | 6’1 | 165 | ANDREW JACKSON |
| 11 | MACK | JVON | DB | 5’10 | 165 | DUTCH FORK |
| 12 | FRYE | CHRIS | DB | 6’0 | 170 | LEXINGTON |
