Zone Reads: Top 15 2023s From The Lowcountry

Ian Guerin May 13, 2022 @ 07:41 AM

All in all, 21 different players from the Lowcountry made their way into Prep Red Zone South Carolina’s updated Class of 2023 rankings top 100. Yeah, there is clearly some talent from Charleston right on down to Hilton Head. Clusters of players at Oceanside Collegiate and Summerville didn’t hurt. Neither did a budding crop of defensive linemen who are all competing against each other on the camp and recruiting circuits - something that is clearly making them all better. Here, we break down the top 15 overall players from the zone. [player_tooltip player_id="262615" first="Steve" last="Simpkins"], LB, Summerville Every year, some senior linebacker in South Carolina pulls a major offer toward the end of his senior season. Could Simpkins be that player for 2023? His skill set puts him in the running. [player_tooltip player_id="146369" first="Jordan" last="Turner"], DB, Goose Creek The rangy Turner can play all four defensive back positions, as he’s an adept coverage corner, a big-hitting strong safety or a great center fielder in the free safety position. Makes him marketable as all get up. [player_tooltip player_id="89348" first="De’Andre" last="Jones"], DL, Summerville If Jones was 6-foot-3, he’d have his pick of schools already at his fingertips. After all, this is a player who has averaged a sack a game the last 17 times he’s put on his uniform. [player_tooltip player_id="262614" first="Drew" last="Inabinet"], OL, Summerville Inabinet is a rare crossover talent. He’s huge, measured official at 6-foot-4 and 346 pounds during the Palmetto Combine. But he’s also got a 79-inch wing span and ran a 5.38 40 at that combine. [player_tooltip player_id="89335" first="Keith" last="Elmore"], DB, Summerville Elmore has been started at the Class 5A school for two years already and is primed for his best year yet. He can get sideline to sideline in a hurry and tackles with ferociousness. [player_tooltip player_id="91158" first="TJ" last="Wilson"], LB, Ashley Ridge The short-but-stalky Wilson is quicker than he initial appears. It’s why he’s creeping up on the 300 career tackle chart. He’ll likely hit that in the last non-region game or first region contest this season. [player_tooltip player_id="91356" first="Daryl" last="DePass"], DB, Beaufort DePass had just one interception a year ago. Why? Teams didn’t like testing the shutdown corner. Taking a huge chunk out of the field allows the rest of the Beaufort defense to lock in. [player_tooltip player_id="91143" first="Drew" last="Moore"], QB, Goose Creek Two Lowcountry coaches recently told us that Moore is among the most difficult quarterbacks to game-plan for. We’re not surprised. The pro-style signal caller does just about everything well. [player_tooltip player_id="146357" first="Tim" last="Castain"], DL, Oceanside Collegiate Castain’s star is rising quickly amid all the talent at Oceanside. He’s making himself into a quality recruit who can shift into different spots along the defensive line. [player_tooltip player_id="262573" first="Chris" last="Marable"], DL, Hilton Head Among the biggest movers and shakers in this class is a defensive lineman who can both move offensive linemen out of his way or shake his way into the backfield to wreck plays. [player_tooltip player_id="91142" first="Omari" last="Jenkins"], LB, Timberland Georgia State fell in love with Jenkins early on, and his big-production quality is why. He once had 25 tackles in a game and has the size to play Division-I ball.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> [player_tooltip player_id="89344" first="Vaughn" last="Blue"], RB, Oceanside Collegiate The No. 2 tailback in the class, Blue has come a long way in a short amount of time. He could put up some monster numbers in 2023, as everything continues to line up in his favor. [player_tooltip player_id="89341" first="Eamon" last="Smalls"], DL, Beaufort Smalls recently shed a decent amount of weight - somewhere in the 40-50-pound range, and is a step faster than he was while playing at north of 340 pounds as he did for most of his junior year. [player_tooltip player_id="89337" first="Monroe" last="Freeling"], OL, Oceanside Collegiate Freeling may end up being the most recruited player from this entire class even after he cut down his impressive list to a whole bunch college football blue bloods. His size can’t be taught. [player_tooltip player_id="89345" first="Zolten" last="Osborne"], QB, Fort Dorchester Had it not been for game cancellations, we may be talking about Osborne approaching the 10,000 career passing yards mark this year. Still, 8,500 or even 9,000 isn’t off the table if the season plays out in full.