The Greatest Players in SC History

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.

About Jim Baxter

Founder of SCVarsity.com, and The Southern PIgskin Report. Former publisher with Rivals.com and Nationally published recruiting anlayst witih 30 years of experience in the industry. His work has appeared in publications such as Athlon, Sporting News, The Recruiting News and Deep South Recruiting. He is the author of the best selling book, The Book On Evaluating Football Players.

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7 comments

  1. Dee Feaster Northwestern HS

  2. Steve Davis-RB Spartanburg
    Brian Wofford-WR/DB Spartanburg
    Jarvis Davis-FS Spartanburg
    Terrance Sims- RB Spartanburg

    Dee Feaster- RB Northwestern

  3. Jamal Reynolds/DE Aiken High School

  4. Tony Ransom Marion High School
    James Scott Marion High School
    Mario Ford ran for over 2,000 yards in a season and finished 2nd in the state
    Stan manning from dillon high school

  5. Rayfus Crawford and Jermaine Davis Chesnee High school

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