South Carolina's Most Talented: No. 7 Myrtle Beach

For the past 15 years, the Myrtle Beach football program has been considered one of the state's most consistent.   The Seahawks have won 167 games, won four state championships and played for two more. Finding themselves among <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/02/who-are-the-most-talented-teams-in-south-carolina/">Prep Red Zone's most talented programs</a>? That shouldn't be a shock to anyone, especially because of how Mickey Wilson said the whole process begins.    "When you talk about our feeder program, we are very fortunate here to have one of the best recreation programs in the state of South Carolina," Wilson said of the Myrtle Beach recreation department. "It sits right here in our back yard. Their game field is right next door to our stadium. We see those guys when they're in 6th, 7th, 8th grade, we get to see what they are."   Wilson has famously scouted youth quarterbacks and given them "jobs" at the varsity level, be it handing out towels or water or anything else that exposes them to the playbook at an early age. And from the signal callers to the rest of the positions, it then becomes a matter of preparing them in the weight room.   The advanced directive has made the 2022 season seem like that much more of an anomaly. The Seahawks went 5-7, their first losing season in two decades. But the cupboard was certainly not bare. Nor will it be in 2023.   Chances are, Myrtle Beach won't be down for long, even as some of its most productive players from last fall move on to the next phase.   [player_tooltip player_id='336149' first='Mike' last='Gillard'] LB, 2023   Gillard was good as a junior. He was not short of spectacular as a senior. After moving from safety to linebacker over the summer, Gillard's numbers were sort of insane: 81 solo tackles, 75 assisted tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles. He was asked to do so much that it may have actually slowed his individual production some. That's saying something, as he was named to the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and walked away from his prep career with a case of awards from the 2022 season.   [player_tooltip player_id='146376' first='Wade' last='White'] OL, 2023   White is walking away from football, ready to be a regular college student and leave the pads in his past. What those who saw him start for three full seasons wasn't any less memorable. White, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound left tackle, held his own against some of the most dynamic defensive ends in the state for 21 games (both his sophomore and junior seasons were shortened). Even with significant losses, White was as reliable as they come.    [player_tooltip player_id='146360' first='Cam' last='Ward'] LB, 2023   Ward was used in so many different ways the last two years of high school. He started some games at running back while doubling up at linebacker. He missed a bunch of games due to multiple breaks of the same forearm and always seemed to come back stronger. Consider that at just 5-foot-4, he was second on the team in tackles for loss with 10.5 while serving as a potent blitzer off the edge.    [player_tooltip player_id='336119' first='Jake' last='Doty'] WR, 2023   Doty didn't have the senior campaign he hoped for, and he'll be the first to tell you it was because of the the lack of team success, not his. Still, despite the issues at quarterback, the receiver hauled a team-high 37 passes for 503 yards and eight touchdowns. The scores were also tops for the Seahawk receiving crew. His film and live evaluations didn't falter, even when Myrtle Beach's offense did. It's why he was choses for the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl and was able to finish out his career on his home turf in December.   [player_tooltip player_id='58826' first='Trey' last='Dunn'] QB, 2023   A pair of injuries prevented the West Virginia transfer from making more of an impact. Yet, he was enough of a talent that when he was in the lineup (seven games), he threw for 704 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for another 394 yards and six scores. His absence threw the Seahawks into a bit of a mad scramble to piece together the offense down the stretch. But for what its worth, he fulfilled an earlier commitment to Navy.    [player_tooltip player_id='208344' first='Brady' last='Pickett'] OL, 2024   If you're curious about why Pickett's highlight reel has so many views, look no further than what he did against May River (multiple clips from that game below). Pickett was blowing defenders off the line, pulling in traffic and getting downfield on screens to plow through linebackers and defensive backs. At 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds, Pickett could easily transition from right tackle to left (to replace White). And we see him doing some damage.    [player_tooltip player_id='402500' first='Malachi' last='Washington'] RB, 2024   Remember last year when we indicated Washington (pictured) would be moving to the defensive backfield? Yeah, clearly Myrtle Beach scrapped those plans. After rushing for 758 yards and seven scores as a sophomore, the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder blew up as a junior. After that quick offseason flirtation on defense, Washington rushed for 1,361 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2022. Tacking on a few carries from his freshman season, he's already up and over 2,100 rushing yards for his career. It stands to reason that Washington will be back on offense again in 2023.   [player_tooltip player_id='267459' first='Ricky' last='Escobar'] LB, 2024   Escobar didn't see the field in 2022 thanks to an injury suffered during spring ball, but he's already back on the track getting back up to snuff. That's a huge re-addition. As a sophomore, Escobar had 49.5 total tackles (25 solo) and was a fearless tackler with excellent straight line speed. He used it to crash the offensive line. Clearly, he was missed in 2022, especially against a slew of opponents who had tremendous running games. But his return will pad the blow from losing Gillard.     [player_tooltip player_id='272701' first='John' last='Simmons'] WR, 2025   Much like Doty, Simmons was limited in his impact due to the QB situation. That lack of a rhythm made him assume more of a role of decoy, but it didn't take away his potential for his final two years. Simmons (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) is a top-15 overall player in the Class of 2025 because he has the potential to break out at any time if the right situations are there. If the breaks fall, get ready to see him name week to week to week.   [player_tooltip player_id='395980' first='Ashton' last='Keith'] LB, 2025   At 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds (and growing) we see big potential out of this malleable linebacker. At times, he's shown the ability to move to a true defensive end position. At others, he's piled up tackles from his spot in the middle of the defense. He missed some time in 2022, but he was all over the stat sheet in terms of those impact plays that can turn a game in a hurry. If he stays at linebacker, he might be one of Region VI-4A's top tacklers this fall. If he moves up, he could be one of the more potent pass rushers.     [player_tooltip player_id='605530' first='Israel' last='Brown'] DB, 2025   The Seahawks' newest addition to our rankings, Brown was initially forced into action and then allowed some others to go back to their natural positions with some reliable play. All told, Brown piled up 57 total tackles, a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery during his sophomore season. While mainly a corner for now, he might see a switch to safety. Brown's flexibility will be one of those components that is inspiring a whole bunch of confidence on that side of the ball in 2023.

For the past 15 years, the Myrtle Beach football program has been considered one of the state's most consistent.