Palmetto Combine East: 2024 News, Notes
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Continue ReadingPotential New Subscribers: Take advantage of our 40% off special by using the coupon code Guerin40 at checkout. In addition to our 365-day-a-year football approach, Prep Red Zone South Carolina is the official media partner of the 2023 Palmetto Combine Series, meaning subscribers will get first-hand information on many of the 1,200 athletes in attendance at all four sites.
FLORENCE | Just four months removed from a wake-up call of a performance at the Joanne Langfitt Junior Showcase in Myrtle Beach, Jayden Fuller Jayden Fuller 5'11" | 225 lbs | LB Silver Bluff | 2024 State SC proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder this weekend back in the 843.
During Sunday’s Palmetto Combine East rising seniors session at West Florence, Fuller checked all the boxes.
Again.
The Aiken linebacker worked out with both his regular position mates and defensive ends during the skills portion of the combine, and he was an easy pick for the event’s top defensive skill player.
“You can always get better. There’s always something you can improve on,” Fuller said. “My main focus [in Florence] was showing that I’m a versatile player. You can’t positionalize me. I can rush off the edge and beat your biggest guy or I can run with your fastest guy. I’m always trying to prove that I can get better, to show I can be better than I was before.”
If anyone is going to be able to make up a word, we’re good with Fuller doing so in this instance.
That’s because for the second time in a short amount of time, he proved that he could compete with just about anyone. Remember, it was in December that he asked what the record was for the offensive linemen on the bench press and then casually ripped off an event-tying mark.
This time around, Fuller excelled again.
Here’s a snapshot of his day:
Height: 5-foot-10.75
Weight: 222 pounds
Wing span: 77 inches (equivalent of someone who is 6-foot-3 or taller)
40-yard dash: 4.66
Vertical: 33.7 inches
Broad jump: 9 feet
Pro shuttle: 4.62
One talent evaluator in attendance Sunday said that Fuller was no less than a solid Group of Five recruit going forward, something that appears to be a lock with him already having offers from the likes of Miami (Ohio), Appalachian State, Georgia State, Liberty and Charlotte in recent months.
Some of those offers chased his performance at Langfitt, while even more interest followed him finishing third in the Class 4A state wrestling tournament at 220 pounds.
Fuller contends he’s not done yet.
Sunday was proof.
QUARTERBACKS, QUARTERBACKS, QUARTERBACKS
We had an idea that Sunday’s combine was going to be jammed with many of the best quarterbacks in the state in 2024.
When who showed up, well, showed up, the Palmetto Combine East turned into a veritable who’s who of signal callers.
In total, seven of the 12 quarterbacks we currently have ranked inside the top-100 overall players in the class were at West Florence. (Editor’s note: Rankings for this class will be updated on Wednesday this week).
This is what we saw from some of those quarterbacks:
No. 17 Javion Martin Javion Martin 6'2" | 185 lbs | QB Crestwood | 2024 State SC (pictured) – Martin has even more zip on his passes in person. He didn’t throw for 3,000 yards last fall by accident, after all.
No. 18 Devin Grainger Devin Grainger 6'1" | 170 lbs | QB Conway | 2024 State SC – Conway’s big lefty is obviously spending some time in the weight room. He’s also grown at least an inch in recent months and is a half-inch shy of 6-foot.
No. 22 Terrence Smith Terrence Smith 6'0" | 175 lbs | QB South Aiken | 2024 State SC – Smith’s 4.37 40-yard dash broke the Palmetto Combine’s mark.
No. 41 Taiden Mines Taiden Mines 5'11" | 180 lbs | QB Lexington | 2024 State SC – Mines comes across with a lot more power than you might expect.
No. 55 Connor Schwalm Connor Schwalm 5'11" | 205 lbs | QB St. James | 2024 State SC – Schwalm has trimmed down some during the track season and is now measuring 195 pounds. Yet, he’s also appearing much stronger. Keep in mind, he recently set the St. James record in the shot.
No. 89 Rocco Wojcik Rocco Wojcik 5'11" | 165 lbs | QB Socastee | 2024 State SC – Wojcik is as close to 100 percent as he’s been in maybe a year after suffering back-to-back collarbone injuries.
No. 98 McKendrie Douglas McKendrie Douglas 6'3" | 195 lbs | QB Hartsville | 2024 State SC – Douglas put up some really respectable numbers, and at just shy of 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds now, the dual-threat quarterback is primed for a big 2023.
One player who isn’t currently ranked (hint: he will be soon) who caught our eye was Blythewood’s Harrison Collins Harrison Collins 6'3" | 220 lbs | QB Blythewood | 2024 State SC . The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder was named the event’s top offensive skill player by the coaches working the combine after showing off some high-end accuracy on his throws even as the wind picked up.