South Carolina's Most Talented: No. 8 (Tie) South Florence

As if plenty of eyes weren't on South Florence anyway, we had a pretty darn good idea the Bruins weren't just some off-season feel-good story when they dropped a nifty 53-9 score on Class 5A foe Goose Creek on the road to open the season or had just two regular-season games determined by a single score.   But what bolstered South's players up the rankings and into the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/02/who-are-the-most-talented-teams-in-south-carolina/">Top 10 of Prep Red Zone's</a> talent measuring stick was a combination of the build up and the here and now.   “I don't think this was a lightning-in-a-bottle year,” head coach Drew Marlowe said in January. “When I got the job three years ago, I knew this was going to happen. I didn't know we were going to win a state championship. But I knew we needed to develop work ethic and a certain level of character and an ability to weather the bad moments.”   Of course, it wasn't as simple as showing up and snapping the football, either.   “Making sure you have your best players in the best position to make an impact on a game is critically important,” Marlowe said. “That's something we spend a lot of time talking about as a staff. When you have a really talented team, don't screw it up. We said that all year; 'We're very talented, but we can't screw it up.'”   Many of the pieces will change in 2023, but the mindset won't. After all, the build around arguably the state's most impactful player from last fall allowed the staff to get some high-quality younger players noticed, too.   It's why Marlowe said he expects South Florence to be at or near the top of Class 4A football for years to come.   [player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers'] QB, 2023   Of course, the biggest loss will be Sellers, the Mr. Football finalist who put up 4,286 yards combined passing and rushing, threw for 45 touchdowns and ran for another 22. The South Carolina signee was simply ridiculous in the playoffs, when he put up 26 total touchdowns without turning the ball over once. In the final three rounds, he averaged 371 yards of offense and accumulated 17 touchdowns. Yeah, there's a reason he was the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2023.    [player_tooltip player_id='263155' first='Jaylin' last='William Davis'] LB, 2023   Davis took all the energy from his dynamic senior season on the football field and rolled it right into wrestling, where he's already been selected - like he was for football - to the North-South All-Star matches. On February 2, he also signed his letter of intent with North Greenville to continue his football career. It's been a good run for the hybrid linebacker who finished the 2022 season with 28 tackles for loss and 96.5 overall tackles.    [player_tooltip player_id='263156' first='Trokel' last='Prew'] LB, 2023   Like Davis, Prew has excelled on the mat again this winter, and it could be an inroads toward keeping him on some late recruiting boards as needs arise for some small schools around the state. Clearly, he's got something a few colleges could use. The team's middle linebacker chalked up tackles galore in 2022 - 106.5 of them in total. He added 10 tackles for loss and four sacks, but what he did in the middle of that defense was allow everyone else to freelance a bit more. Simply, Prew doesn't miss tackles.    [player_tooltip player_id='336150' first='Evin' last='Singletary'] WR, 2023   Like many of the Bruins' other offensive weapons, the presence of [player_tooltip player_id='146356' first='LaNorris' last='Sellers'] often cast a huge shadow. But you can't downplay Singletary's role in this offense. The quarterback's favorite target hauled in 49 receptions for 1,169 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also averaged 23.9 yards per reception. Each of those four categories were tops for the Bruins. Singletary is a near-perfect combination of straight-line speed and route running.    [player_tooltip player_id='443498' first='Nate' last='McGee'] OL, 2023   The man who started it all each snap for South Florence was as reliable as they come. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound center quietly put together one of the better seasons we've seen from a center in a shotgun offense. He was at times patient, letting the pocket develop behind him. At other moments, he was ultra-aggressive, opening up a hole up the middle that no one thought would be there. Were there a few bad snaps along the way? Sure. But South ran just shy of 800 offensive plays in 2022. Trust us, the miscues were few and far between.    [player_tooltip player_id='208354' first='Chantwan' last='Harkless'] DL, 2024   Harkless as ebbed and flowed in our rankings some since he first appeared. At times, he falls back some. But when Harkless is on, it's impossible not to see the potential for the defensive lineman could become before his prep career is over. He's strong enough fight off opposing offensive tackles and quick enough to shoot the gap to get into the backfield. And since he's already 6-foot-3 and north of 210 pounds, he gives the Bruins just enough flexibility to move inside on occasion. Now, what he does with it in 2023 is a question still to be answered.   [player_tooltip player_id='208353' first='Quincy' last='Rhodes'] ATH, 2024   Rhodes is a quintessential free safety. He's not overly big at 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds. And any speed he lacks is more than made up by his excellent vision and ability to predict plays. He had four interceptions last fall, including the big one in the state championship game (leading off his highlights below). He also forced three fumbles and ended the year with 48.5 total tackles on defense that didn't really count on him for that. If you're curious where his skill set might have gotten its biggest jumpstart, look no further than the 2021 season, when he was the starting quarterback for the second half of the year after Sellers went down.    [player_tooltip player_id='589058' first='Justin' last='Joe'] OL, 2024   Joe (pictured) is 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds. Not exactly what you'd think of when we also tell you that his footwork is exactly what puts him on the map. The guard is a master at pulling and opened up more holes in 2022 than maybe any other offensive lineman on the Bruins' roster. That last part is important because for as many times as those home run passes made highlight reels and led to quick scores, this was still an offense that ran the ball 517 times and averaged 7.35 yards per carry.    [player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] WR, 2025   It would be real easy to say that Sellers's first big college offers were tied to his older brother.    But then you see the receiver's numbers. During his breakout season, [player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] had 39 receptions for 827 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged better than 21 yards per reception and protected the ball after the grab. He broke tackles and made circus catches and blocked downfield and showed a serious burst before and after he had the ball in his hands. Sellers was also clutch late, when the Bruins' previous No. 2 receiver went down. No, his spot in our 2025 rankings is no glitch.

As if plenty of eyes weren't on South Florence anyway, we had a pretty darn good idea the Bruins weren't just some off-season feel-good story when they dropped a nifty 53-9 score on Class 5A foe Goose Creek on the road to open the season or had just two regular-season games determined by a single score.