SPRING LOOK: Players Ready To Shake Up Region VI-5A

Sumter might be the cream of the crop in Region VI-5A. At least, that’s the common thought in this part of the state given the Gamecocks’ roster full of returning players ready to defend their crown. But over the past few weeks, we’ve been concentrating on the rest of the region. There are some players we think are ready to make major leaps. We’re seeing some things we certainly like, not to mention reason to believe the playoff spots for this region come fall are nowhere near determined. <strong>Daniel Deneen</strong>, K/P, St. James Yes, we’re going to tell you about a kicker’s 40 time. It was south of 5.0 at the Palmetto Combine. Sure, no one cares about that, but we’d be remiss to not include it as a sign of how athletic this kid is. Sure enough, during the Sharks’ spring finale, one of the top specialists in the state picked up a botched snap/blocking, caught the edge and wasn’t stopped for 40 yards. Oh, yeah, Deneen (pictured) can also kick the snot out of the ball. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91513" first="Connor" last="Schwalm"]</strong>, QB, St. James After moving into the area last summer, Schwalm probably got into the program too late to vie for much varsity playing time. Yeah, that won’t be the case anymore. The rising junior ran a 4.68 40-yard dash at the Palmetto Combine, an impressive number considering he’s 5-foot-10 and just north of 200 pounds. He then took essentially every QB snap during the Sharks’ spring finale.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> [player_tooltip player_id="336144" first="Steven" last="Greene"], WR, Socastee When we raved about Greene during the combine circuit in April and May, we meant it. Greene is faster than he’s ever been. What’s more, he’s part of the movement of skill position guys at Socastee (more on that in a moment) that help Ben Hampton start putting everything in place for a potential run closer to the top of the region standings.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> [player_tooltip player_id="340389" first="Caden" last="O’Keefe"], RB, Socastee O’Keefe (officially measured at 5-foot-6 and 168 pounds not long ago) is a true bruiser running back with every bit of confidence from his coaching staff. His cutting ability makes up for a lack of straight-line speed, and he will have every opportunity to be the guy coming out of the Braves’ backfield.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> [player_tooltip player_id="202739" first="Scott" last="Saylor"], QB, Carolina Forest Saylor has spent most of the offseason with a private strength and conditioning coach, and his increased size (he’s now 185 pounds to go along with being 6-foot). Saylor’s arm strength increases are even more noticeable. He has much more pop on his throws. Combined with his learning curve year in 2021, and Saylor has taken the next stage of his development seriously.