Junior Finds: Potential 2024 Stars

Ian Guerin April 20, 2022 @ 08:00 AM

Just a few weeks away from our next rankings update, we’ve already earmarked a whole bunch of players who have put together the types of offseason we love to see. Consider this a sneak peak of some of the new additions. These six rising juniors each have high ceilings at the prep level and likely beyond. SPECIAL TEAMS Jack Stevens, North Augusta You may already know the Stevens name here, as recently graduated North Augusta all-state selection [player_tooltip player_id="91237" first="Drew" last="Stevens"] is in line to be the next starting kicker at the University of Iowa. His younger brother is one to watch, too. Jack Stevens is roughly the same size Drew was entering his junior year of high school and has just as much long-term potential with a huge leg. DEFENSE [player_tooltip player_id="242787" first="Bruce" last="Knauber"], Greenville The Greenville defensive end has had a good offseason, one we expect him to continue during the Prep Red Zone Prospect Tour next month in Tennessee. Knauber, now 6-foot-1 and 260 pounds, has the type of size where the staff could entertain the idea of moving him inside. However, he’s kept up the edge speed that makes him such a good defensive end. [player_tooltip player_id="262434" first="Juels" last="Huntley"], Florence Christian Like many SCISA players, Huntley excels on both sides of the ball. After all, he put up 1,100 rushing and receiving yards combined last year as a sophomore. But we think he may be an even better defensive back. The speedy Huntley can keep pace with any receiver he lines up against and has a true feel for tracking the ball in the air. OFFENSE Terrence Smith, South Aiken Smith introduced himself to the rest of the CSRA last fall by rushing for 736 yards (while averaging 8.6 ypc) and nine touchdowns while throwing for another 524 yards and four scores. He only threw one pick in 77 attempts. Next season as a junior, he’ll likely flirt with a 2,000-yard total yard type of season. Harold Gathers, Baptist Hill Baptist Hill throws the ball. Then the Bobcats throw it some more. At the helm of it all most of last year was Gathers, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound quarterback with a huge arm. Gathers battled some injury issues last year but still threw for just shy of 2,400 yards and 30 touchdowns. If he cuts down on his interception figures (he threw 18 last year), watch out. [player_tooltip player_id="302853" first="Bryce" last="Rothwell"], Lucy Beckham Rothwell only had three games to prove himself last fall while Lucy Beckham snuck in a few exempted varsity games. But believe us when we tell you that the big tight end has all the tools to make it big at this level. Beckham’s 2022 schedule will be a proving ground of sorts, and we think it will expose everyone to Rothwell’s abilities.