Six Surprises From The CNB Kickoff Classic

Ian Guerin August 13, 2022 @ 12:10 AM

We couldn't have known.   Couldn't have gone to enough spring ball practices or even August scrimmages to seen all these.   The CNB Kickoff Classic gave us some knowledge of a large number of players we simply haven't seen do their thing under the bright of lights of Coastal Carolina's Brooks Stadium.   In no particular order, here are some surprises we noticed.   JOSH BROWN, WR, SOCASTEE   Socastee coach Ben Hampton has been hinting at how good his receiving corps could be. On top of [player_tooltip player_id='336144' first='Steven' last='Greene'] and transfer Quadir Scott (who will also be playing some quarterback), the Braves showed off their biggest one of the bunch against Myrtle Beach.   Josh Brown (pictured), a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder, hauled in three passes on the team's first offensive drive. Those receptions went for 40 yards, and two of them were on second- or third-and-long situations where quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='139313' first='Rocco' last='Wojcik'] needed to get the ball upfield to move the sticks. Brown was a junior varsity starter a year ago, but by the end of the year, he started making some changes.   “He's been in the weight room since the end of last season,” Hampton said. “He's transformed his body.”   AJ GRATE and ANDRE GRATE, WR, WACCAMAW   Waccamaw fans better get used to the last named Grate right now. The freshmen twins have clearly caught the eye of quarterback Jaret Yonker, who targeted them a total of 14 times on Friday night. Considering Waccamaw had the ball for roughly 12 minutes of game time (the scrimmages were 20 minutes each), the Warriors were intent on getting the two youngsters some touches.    During one stretch, the Grates were targeted on five consecutive plays. More importantly, the two were the primary focus of Waccamaw's final drive, when the Warriors need to drive the length of the field to tie up the game or possibly take the lead. It showed head coach Amondre Johnson has plenty of faith in them.   [player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert'], RB, CAROLINA FOREST   Offensive coordinator Shane Dular has been big on Gilbert for months, and with only a small number of carries, we saw why.   Gilbert scored Carolina Forest's only offensive touchdown of the night on a three-yard run with just 1:46 left to play in Game 3 against Loris. He showed some tackle-breaking ability before and during, and he'll get chances to shine this fall after starring on the JV team as a freshman.   DEQUAN DURHAM, RB, NORTH MYRTLE BACH   North Myrtle Beach fans never really heard DeQuan Durham's name last season.   He spent the 2021 season mostly as an afterthought, saddled behind experienced starters and reserves at both running back and receiver.   This year, he'll have every chance to make up for lost time.   Durham was a focal point for a Chiefs' offense almost entirely re-done top to bottom after significant player graduations from last season. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound tailback had 48 yards on the ground and a touchdown in the team's session against St. James.   Durham, who played receiver on the junior varsity as a sophomore, has grown three inches since the start of the 2021 season.   DYLON WHITE, DL, GREEN SEA FLOYDS   It's easier to notice offensive standouts at this point of the calendar, but for all the bigger schools who played Friday, maybe no one stood out on defense as much as the Class of 2026 defensive lineman.   White is huge. Like 6-foot-4, 280 pounds huge.   He proved that he could handle the complicated blocking schemes that Aynor's offense throws at opposing defensive linemen. White won't even start his first day of high school until next week. So, yeah, we're telling you that this is a name you will probably be hearing for years to come.

We couldn't have known.