2023 Rankings Update: Stock Risers

Ian Guerin May 12, 2022 @ 08:00 AM

We sifted through every player who was already in our Class of 2023 rankings as of January and tried to figure out who had made the most noise without suiting up in a single game before the next rankings. We found our seven. Each of the following players - two receivers, a linebacker, a defensive lineman, a defensive back, a quarterback and an offensive lineman - did just that. From camps to combines to other sports, they did something that got our attention. [player_tooltip player_id="146372" first="Elijah" last="Caldwell"], WR, Northwestern (↑ 15 spots) We don’t base our rankings upon college offers. Frankly, the transfer portal and long-term potential don’t always say how good a player is now. Still, we can’t ignore the 15 NCAA Division-I offers and three Power 5 ones Caldwell already has in his back pocket. We also can’t look past his 1,247 yards and 15 touchdowns from last season.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> [player_tooltip player_id="262679" first="Taeshaun" last="Sellers"], WR, Hannah-Pamplico (↑ 19 spots) The number of “wows” we heard during the recent Palmetto Combine Series event in regards to Sellers tells the story. The small-school receiver would be a starter at just about any school in the state and makes Hannah-Pamplico extremely dangerous at a position that is normally an afterthought.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> [player_tooltip player_id="263155" first="Jaylin" last="Davis"], LB, South Florence (↑ 23 spots) We love guys who compete in other sports. No secret there. In Davis, we found that a first-time wrestler could have a huge go of it, too. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound rising senior finished third in the state’s Class 4A individual tournament after also putting together a solid season. It’s why he’s one of our top-ranked linebackers in a class full of them. [player_tooltip player_id="262573" first="Chris" last="Marable"], DL, Hilton Head (↑ 25 spots) The now-Wake Forest commitment can probably be considered the best nowhere-to-everyone player in the state over the course of the last nine months. He injured himself as a freshman, moved out of state before his sophomore year and lost the season to the pandemic and then returned to Hilton Head for a dynamic junior season. Marable is a true difference maker. [player_tooltip player_id="202736" first="Nate" last="Branch"], WR, Lower Richland (↑ 39 spots) Branch had a solid junior season, hauling in 30 passes for more than 800 yards and 10 touchdowns. That was a nice start for a 10-game season in which Lower Richland wasn’t exactly needing to sling it around late in most of its games. The offseason has been a continuation of Branch’s progress. And while Power 5 schools are still calling, his verbal commitment to Coastal Carolina could keep him in state. [player_tooltip player_id="200739" first="Brandon" last="Cisse"], DB, Lakewood (↑ 56 spots) Much like Caldwell, Cisse has cleaned up in the offer department since the end of last season. He’d doubled up just since mid-March, largely in part to his increased speed that he continues to show week after week on the track. Cisse will be in the Lower State meet this weekend in three events and could further showcase one of those tools that tend to do well for corners. [player_tooltip player_id="199432" first="Tanner" last="Staton"], QB, Brookland-Cayce (↑ 58 spots) Staton is a few months away from being called some type of “surprise” on the rankings market. He’s a quarterback approaching the summer of his senior season without any offers. But we see a player whit huge potential either at his natural position or any of the others he could shift to in college because of everything he does well now. [player_tooltip player_id="202774" first="DJ" last="Geth"], OL, Dorman (↑ 88 spots) There’s been so much focus lately on fellow Dorman lineman [player_tooltip player_id="91355" first="Markee" last="Anderson"] that Geth has quietly been making himself a potential top-flight player in the shadows. Geth earned MVP honors for the position at the Palmetto Combine Series Upper State event about two weeks after North Carolina offered. The need to keep pushing is something we believe will carry right on into his senior year.