2022 Rankings Update: Stock Risers

With every round of player ranking updates comes significant movement. Consider the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/south-carolina/rankings/2022-rankings/">Prep Red Zone Class of 2022 updates</a> shook. In total, 21 players increased their stock at least 30 spots. There were quarterbacks who improved their already lofty status and previously unknowns outside their schools who proved themselves valuable beyond compare. Here is every player who forced our hands into big-time leaps. [player_tooltip player_id="153274" first="Ky" last="Tayo"], DL, Spring Valley (↑ 31 spots) Even at 6-feet tall, Tayo’s worth was immeasurable for the Vikings. He then parlayed it into a scholarship offer from Sun Belt school Georgia Southern, where he’ll be moving on to play on Saturdays. [player_tooltip player_id="102962" first="Prometheus" last="Franklin II"], QB, Greenville (↑ 32 spots) Franklin was part of a star-studded offense at Greenville that ultimate ended up making the state semifinals. The dual-threat signal caller was the key piece, however. The Red Raiders will miss his tenacity and calm behind center. [player_tooltip player_id="91233" first="Jonathan" last="Chavis"], DL, Camden (↑ 33 spots) A family situation was the only thing that prevented Chavis from being able to compete in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl. And while that may have boosted his stock, his performances during the postseason did the same. [player_tooltip player_id="89316" first="Will" last="Mattison"], QB, Northwestern/[player_tooltip player_id="59494" first="Ryan" last="Burger"], QB, Myrtle Beach (↑ 34 sports) Two of the state’s four all-star selections were coincidental bumps in the Prep Red Zone rankings. What wasn’t a coincidence was why. They both continued to develop when everyone knew exactly what their respective offenses were trying to accomplish. [player_tooltip player_id="89317" first="Jy" last="Martin"], DB, Clover (↑ 35 spots) While playing big-class football, Martin was asked to go above and beyond down the stretch and play some receiver. It didn’t stop him from continually slowing down opposing teams’ top receivers. Martin was a stat monster of a cornerback. [player_tooltip player_id="91198" first="Terry" last="McKithen"], RB, West Florence (↑ 39 spots) “Terry with a T”, as he’s known to Knights fans, was a huge reason West Florence made it to the Lower State finals, as he rushed for 1,815 yards and 28 touchdowns. His durability gave us every reason to bump him up a peg (or 39). [player_tooltip player_id="200765" first="Tavarius" last="Hooks"], RB, North Myrtle Beach (↑ 41 spots) Hooks was sort of a one-year wonder for a North Myrtle Beach team that managed to knock off a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. He rushed for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns in just 10 games for the Chiefs. [player_tooltip player_id="200718" first="Eric" last="Cooper"], LB, South Florence (↑ 43 spots) Cooper was among the fastest on-field performers for a South Florence squad that decimated most of its opponents with pure speed. He had 65 total tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception in 11 games, many of which he wasn’t playing in after halftime. [player_tooltip player_id="183415" first="Mac" last="Walters"], OL, Myrtle Beach (↑ 46 spots) You can teach a lot of things, but height on the offensive line isn’t one of them. Walters, all 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds of him, was instrumental in keeping opposing defenders at bay and allowing the high-powered Seahawk offense to do it thing. [player_tooltip player_id="153241" first="Tre" last="Phillips"], DL, Myrtle Beach (↑ 51 spots) As good as Walters was on the offensive line for Myrtle Beach, Phillips was the standout on the defensive one. The NCAA Division-I and II offers have started to follow, and it appears to be only a matter of time until he finds the right fit. [player_tooltip player_id="89314" first="Kazarius" last="Adams"], RB, Gray Collegiate (↑ 52 spots) A finalist for South Carolina Mr. Football, Adams’ numbers in 2021 were downright laughable. In leading Gray to the Class 2A state title, he rushed for 3,343 yards and 40 touchdowns. Sort of hard to believe Georgia State even recruited him. [player_tooltip player_id="200665" first="Alvin" last="Wilson"], DL, Beaufort (↑ 53 spots) While his teammate [player_tooltip player_id="89341" first="Eamon" last="Smalls"] gets plenty of pub, this was Wilson’s year. The inside-out defensive lineman spent enough time in opposing backfields to warrant a jersey change. His tackles for loss figures were through the roof and coordinators game-planned against him. [player_tooltip player_id="89318" first="Demetrius" last="Watson"], DL, Fort Dorchester (↑ 67 spots) By the end of the year, some media members were opening wondering whether Watson was the best defensive lineman in a state full of them. He had huge game after huge game, and then capped it off with an all-star appearance he’ll remember forever. [player_tooltip player_id="91194" first="Jesus" last="Gutierrez"], OL, Green Sea Floyds (↑ 71 spots) The 6-foot-4, 350-pound tackle cut his ranking exactly in half with a huge push in the final weeks of the regular season, two rounds of playoffs and then a strong performance in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl. [player_tooltip player_id="214159" first="Cj" last="Wicker"], LB, Dutch Fork (↑ 86 spots) We could play a six degrees of Kevin Bacon game and find someone you’re connected to who [player_tooltip player_id="214159" first="Cj" last="Wicker"] tackled this year. The Silver Foxes’ senior linebacker was everywhere. He may have been the most reliable player on the the defense, and that’s saying something. [player_tooltip player_id="153221" first="Avion" last="McBride"], TE, West Florence (↑ 89 spots) Like Adams, McBride is another Georgia State signee plucked out of the Palmetto State. And consider this: McBride wasn’t so much as a blip on the West Florence plans until this summer. The 6-foot-6 tight end changed everyone’s mind in a hurry. [player_tooltip player_id="153245" first="DJ" last="Black"], WR, Chapman (↑ 93 spots) What else can we say about Black that hasn’t already? Let us try anyway. The electric Chapman wideout is going to end up getting whichever college coach signs him in February a raise. He is a game changer on the outside. [player_tooltip player_id="200708" first="Tre" last="McLeod"], DB, Trinity Collegiate/[player_tooltip player_id="91250" first="Dylan" last="Ramirez"], QB, Broome (↑ 132 spots) We mentioned coincidences above, but this one takes the cake. Ramirez and McLeod were two of the three athletes we selected for the Prep Red Zone Fab 50. They crushed it this fall, McLeod as a defensive back and running back and Ramirez as a quarterback and linebacker. [player_tooltip player_id="200731" first="Carlton" last="Terry"], WR, Conway (↑ 166 spots) Admittedly, we left Terry pretty low the last time around because we still weren’t sure exactly how well he’d play in his one and only year at receiver. We’ve corrected our mistake. The former QB lit up fields along the coach all season and was then named one of the MVPs of the Touchstone Energy Bowl.