2026 Rankings Update: Stockrisers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We haven't gone overboard with the Class of 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The crop of current rising sophomores has plenty of time to show off what it can do, individually and collectively, and we took that approach in keeping things ultra-selective. As a result, we only added 20 names to the spring rankings update.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yet, we'd be sticking our heads in the sand to not see a few trends happening right before our eyes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Between the camp and combine circuit and even where some projections are leading us, five players have everything at their disposal to make their sophomore campaigns even better than their debuts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='617662' first='Jamie' last='Williamson'] DL, West Florence (Up 1 spot)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're playing this one pretty safe - all the while noticing what's happening with the Knights' defense, specifically, a pair of seniors. What offensive coordinator in their right mind is going to ignore University of South Carolina verbal commitment [player_tooltip player_id='208334' first='Kelvin' last='Hunter'] or fellow run-stopping beast [player_tooltip player_id='443495' first='Franklin' last='Emerson'] and make their game plan all about them? Yeah, it's safe to say we see a window for a breakout year for a 290-pound defensive lineman who had 22 tackles and four tackles for loss as a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='473010' first='Michael' last='Boulware'] LB, Gray Collegiate (Up 2 spots)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some will accuse us of moving Boulware (pictured) up simply because he transferred to Gray Collegiate from Spring Valley this offseason. Go ahead and think that if you want, but the 6-foot-2, 190-pound freak has drawn significant praise from his former head coach (before and after the transfer), and anyone who has saw him record 39.5 tackles as a freshman at the Class 5A level thinks he's set to absolutely blow up after dropping down a few divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='205556' first='Josiah' last='Oxendine'] QB, Dillon (Up 7 spots)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If what we've already seen stays true to form, Oxendine is probably going to see that he's still the third-ranked quarterback in this class and find a way to hold a motivational grudge. One of QB whisperer Ramon Robinson's next mentees, Oxendine is growing beyond the game manager position he held for a pretty good Dillon squad during his first year in high school. In his second, Dillon might enter the preseason as the Lower State favorite to reach the Class 3A championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='473029' first='Jaiden' last='McDowell'] RB, Gaffney (Up 12 spots)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McDowell did about a third of his overall damage on the ground last year against one team. But that one team was region foe Dorman. Now, factor in that Gaffney is about to be re-tooling some after the loss of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='89340' first='Grayson' last='Loftis'], and the Indians' running game is going to be that much more important. We're projecting some with this move, but we think McDowell is going to take what was already a healthy number of carries and run with them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='233146' first='Jordon' last='Gidron'] WR, Ridge View (Up 22 Spots)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had Gidrion in the top 20 in the class when we first unveiled our 2026 rankings way back in the fall. He took a little bit of a production hit in January - he was a freshman playing in an upperclassmen-dominated lineup and Ridge View had its season evaporate thanks to an infraction. But we believes something special is on the horizon. He's a burner who picked up his first NCAA FBS offer weeks after showing out at the Palmetto Combine Series and starting to emerge as a potential track star.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->