CCC Woodland: Digging Into the Data

Potential New Subscribers: Take advantage of our 40% off special by using the offer code Guerin40 at checkout. In addition to our 365-day-a-year football approach, Prep RedZone South Carolina is the official media partner of the 2024 Carolinas Coaches Combines, meaning subscribers will get first-hand information on many of the 1,200 athletes in attendance at all four sites.   It's not what was expected to happen that was so enlightening.   It was what wasn't.   At least, that's the way Catapult's JP Gunter viewed his massive spreadsheet of data from Saturday's Carolina's Coaches Combine at Woodland. The 2024 kickoff event featured 149 rising seniors and 143 underclassmen, split between two sessions.    And thanks to our media partnership with the series, we have a whole lot more data to attach to the names.   “It's undeniable,” Gunter said of the GPS and other measurable data points. “This is the life we live in right now. There is a side of the verified data that people just have to have. We have now figured out a stage to give everybody the opportunity to be in the national spotlight - from a Class A school to a 5A powerhouse. All the kids have the same stage.”   Some of the highlights were predictable.   Silver Bluff 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='205787' first='Hiszari' last='Gantt'], for instance, ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, a 4.37 pro shuttle and hit 22.55 miles per hour. After all, the MVP of the underclassmen session also earned the same honor last spring. No big shock there, as we've known he was fast for some time.   Nor were we surprised to see Ashley Ridge offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1110005' first='Cody' last='Peterson'] rip off 19 reps on the 185-pound bench, considering he's a verified 6-foot-4 and 328.4 pounds.    Likewise, we already knew Summerville quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='367350' first='Jaden' last='Cummings'] was going to have the strongest arm on site after he threw for 2,928 yards and 32 touchdowns. What we didn't know was that he was going to chime in at 192.8 pounds and nearly hit 21 miles per hour.   In fact, that was only one of the newfound pieces of information players could start adding to their resumes.   SOMETHING MORE   Between the morning and afternoon sessions, several players did something pretty special.    We start with Bamberg-Ehrhardt's [player_tooltip player_id='1157986' first='Javaris' last='Logan'] (pictured) and his 36 reps on the bench. Raiders coach Corey Crosby has been singing Logan's praises for more than six months now after the defensive lineman piled up 24 tackles for loss and proved to be one of the team's best players on that side of the ball during his junior season.   However, there were questions about his size and strength against bigger competition; Bamberg-Ehrhardt is a Class A school and played almost exclusively like-sized schools. But between his combine-record bench reps, measuring 6-foot-1 and 286 pounds and landed a 103-inch broad jump, those questions dissipated.    There's also a new expectation for players in terms of the miles-per-hour data.   Six rising seniors and seven underclassmen topped out above 22.    [player_tooltip player_id='1820227' first='Mah'Ky' last='Green'] (Cross, 22.1), Kemori DeWeese (Summerville, 22.11), [player_tooltip player_id='766728' first='Drelyn' last='Brown'] (Silver Bluff, 22.25), [player_tooltip player_id='1036774' first='Amare' last='Patterson'] (Beaufort, 22.27), [player_tooltip player_id='1395064' first='Messiah' last='McFadden'] ([player_tooltip player_id='1856798' first='[player_tooltip player_id='1856799' first='Blackville-Hilda' last='']' last=''], 22.43) and [player_tooltip player_id='1179928' first='Bryce' last='Allen'] (Sumter, 22.55) all joined Gantt in the afternoon.   The morning session was led by [player_tooltip player_id='1856798' first='[player_tooltip player_id='1856799' first='Blackville-Hilda' last='']' last='']'s [player_tooltip player_id='605527' first='Jaquel' last='Holman'] (22.62), as well as Trevion Harris (Silver Bluff, 22.53), [player_tooltip player_id='1359150' first='Dru' last='Goldsmith'] (Hanahan, 22.47), [player_tooltip player_id='1158021' first='Kevin' last='Boone'] (Berkeley, 22.22), [player_tooltip player_id='1012625' first='Dylan' last='Polansky'] (Ashley Ridge, 22.15) and [player_tooltip player_id='1575332' first='AJ' last='Hamilton'] (May River, 22.03).   That speed didn't come out of nowhere, but officially recording it reaped benefits for all of them.   Likewise, so did another facet of the combine.   “I always like seeing the data on the big men, the offensive line and the defensive line, where we've added in a true strength measurement with the bench press,” Gunter said. “When you have guys that size moving at 17 or 18 miles per hour, that's an impressive feat. And then they can push some weight. I think that's even more impressive than the receivers and defensive backs you expect to be able to run.”   Logan wasn't the only one doing some damage on the bench.    Branchville offensive lineman Khasean Saldono got the bar up 28 times, and he was followed by Stratford defensive lineman Otis Gardner (27), West Ashley offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1254118' first='Daniel' last='Dounian'] (25), Sumter offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1253946' first='Jerius' last='Williams'] (24), South Aiken tight end Ryan Lubeck (23) and Lucy Beckham defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1360190' first='Marshall' last='Evans'], Fort Dorchester linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1198530' first='Jaxon' last='King'] and offensive lineman Landon Miller from Wando (22 each).    As far as big guys motoring during the morning session? Look no further than James Island defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1012698' first='Hendrix' last='Beran'] (6-foot-3.25, 244.2 pounds), who ran a 4.88 40 and was clocked at 20.21 miles per hour.    THE LONG GAME   In many ways, the data is proving valuable in another way, too.    Cross-referencing players' performance over time.    This year's Carolinas Coaches Combines are the third year, and in some cases, players have attended one of the sites in all three years.   “Now we've got the ability to come back and see the same thing,” Gunter said of players repeating or even exceeding past performances. “The kid more than likely can run. The data allows us to paint an even more accurate picture on what a recruit is versus just an estimated height and weight and film. Now, we know who the kid is and are able to give a more detailed and accurate picture as to what's happening on the film.”   One of the best examples was [player_tooltip player_id='1856798' first='[player_tooltip player_id='1856799' first='Blackville-Hilda' last='']' last='']'s Holman. He was clocked at an event-best 22.62 miles per hour during the morning session. That figure was almost identical to his showing in the combine a year ago, proving that his showing Saturday was no fluke.   Likewise, the verified heights and weights are now being used to see how much bigger players are getting.    Bluffton receiver [player_tooltip player_id='402486' first='Carnell' last='Warren'] showed up on Saturday for the underclassmen session and was an inch-and-a-half taller and nearly 30 pounds heavier than he was last time around. The 6-foot-3.25, 203.2-pound receiver opened some eyes for that alone, even before he touched a football or ran a 40.

Potential New Subscribers: Take advantage of our 40% off special by using the offer code Guerin40 at checkout. In addition to our 365-day-a-year football approach, Prep RedZone South Carolina is the official media partner of the 2024 Carolinas Coaches Combines, meaning subscribers will get first-hand information on many of the 1,200 athletes in attendance at all four sites.