Fab 50 In Focus: The Repeat Honorees

Ian Guerin December 13, 2022 @ 02:59 PM

When you're looking for the top one-half of one percent of football players in the state of South Carolina, there's bound to be some turnover from year to year.   Guys graduate. Others get hurt. Some simply can't keep up their outrageous paces from the previous season.   That's why these six players are in rarified air. All of them not only made Prep Red Zone's inaugural Fab 50 list in 2021. They repeated the act this season.   Here's what made them all so special. Again.    [player_tooltip player_id='91355' first='Markee' last='Anderson'] OL, Dorman   In 2021, Anderson was the lone non-senior to make the cut of our eight offensive lineman. And he was about as much of a lock as there was this time around, too. Anderson (pictured) has maintained excellent foot and hand work despite tacking on some 30-35 pounds from his junior year. He's dominant more often than he isn't and after his appearance in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas this week, he'll head 90 minutes down the road to South Carolina.   [player_tooltip player_id='163871' first='Mazeo' last='Bennett Jr'], ATH, Greenville   If Bennett's trajectory continues, he might develop into one of the best receivers in the state next year. As it stands, our No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2024 continues to impress in a variety of fashions. He finished with 857 yards and 14 touchdowns receiving. He rushed for 221 yards and seven scores. Tack on a bunch of kickoff return yards, and he eclipsed the 1,700-yard plateau and crossed the end zone 23 times.    [player_tooltip player_id='146372' first='Elijah' last='Caldwell'] WR, Northwestern   As a junior, Caldwell was a great receiver for a good Northwestern squad. He hauled in 77 passes for 1,365 yards and 15 touchdowns. This time around, the speedster was even better - and so were the Trojans. In helping Northwestern to an appearance in the Class 4A finals, Caldwell went for 77 receptions, 1,365 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was the type of pass catcher who has West Virginia fans foaming at the mouth while they await his arrival.   [player_tooltip player_id='202743' first='Zyeir' last='Gamble'] DB, Sumter   Gamble is a player who definitely bet on himself. After verbally committing to Appalachian State in June and effectively shutting down schools outside of Boone, N.C., from recruiting him, he ran the ball, caught passes and returned kickoffs and punts. Most importantly, he was a top-notch safety who had hand in creating eight turnovers while tallying 58.5 total tackles. It was a nice encore to a junior season in which he led the state in interceptions with nine.   [player_tooltip player_id='91136' first='Jarvis' last='Green'] RB, Dutch Fork   When we asked the guy who is next up on our list how surprised he was that he won Mr. Football, he responded by saying he believed Green would win the honor. That's because after the Dutch Fork tailback ran for 1,581 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior, he bested it by going off in 2022. His season wasn't over until he added 2,272 yards and 33 scores on the ground and another 527 yards and six touchdowns receiving.    [player_tooltip player_id='89338' first='Xzavier' last='McLeod'] DL, Camden   McLeod missed a couple games. He was double-teamed throughout the entire season. He was cut low and beat up high and was the first line of attack for every opposing offensive coordinator throughout the year. All he did was verbally commit to South Carolina over the likes of Alabama, LSU, Miami and Michigan, add to some ridiculous career numbers for an interior lineman and win the state's Mr. Football award.

When you're looking for the top one-half of one percent of football players in the state of South Carolina, there's bound to be some turnover from year to year.