On Campus: Gray Collegiate War Eagles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WEST COLUMBIA -</strong> “It feels like home.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the team colors to the head coach, the sense of comfort and familiarity at Gray Collegiate is high for wide receive<strong>r [player_tooltip player_id='205787' first='Hiszari' last='Gantt']</strong>. The rising junior and Silver Bluff transfer is among the newcomers brought in by De'Angelo Bryant, who came over from Petticoat Junction to replace longtime head coach Adam Holmes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gantt joined Bryant at the West Columbia school where he looks to further display his talents on the field at a position where the War Eagles graduated Class 2A All-State selection<strong> Jamarious Lockett</strong> <strong>and [player_tooltip player_id='1158010' first='Zion' last='Job']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I want to show who I actually am,” said Gantt, who will also return kicks and play cornerback. “I'm a playmaker. Ready to show people what they should think of me.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Irmo transfer <strong>Quinton Stroman</strong> is another newcomer to the Gray Collegiate wide receiving corps. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound rising senior provides a tall target for rising junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='232668' first='Tyler' last='Waller']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He threw for 1,618 yards and 19 touchdowns in his first year as a starter, leading the War Eagles to the Class 2A title game for the second time in three years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heading into this summer, Waller has increased his build with daily workouts in the weight room and exhibits more comfort running the offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gray Collegiate Academy will have a mostly young offensive line looking to protect Waller and open running lanes for its “two-headed monster” backfield of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605529' first='BJ' last='Montgomery'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272707' first='Caleb' last='Ford']</strong>. Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1349328' first='Carter' last='Stephens']</strong> is the leader of the group which is expected to include <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422610' first='Jack' last='Armstrong']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='756223' first='Nathan' last='Carson']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rising freshman, Carson is part of a “Generation Next” movement at Gray Collegiate. He's the son or former Class 2A All-State power forward Nate Carson of Calhoun County and someone Bryant believes will develop into a productive two-way player for the War Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Making their way from Blythewood are defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395040' first='Royal' last='Williamson'] </strong>and wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1319663' first='Royce' last='Williamson']</strong>. The sons of former NFL, University of South Carolina and Silver Bluff wide receiver Troy Williamson look to make a name for themselves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I've got to show people that I'm not like my dad,” said Royce, a rising sophomore. “I'm going to be better, so I've got to prove myself out here and in the classroom.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rounding out the “Generation Next” class is returning leading tackler <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473010' first='Michael' last='Boulware']</strong>. The rising junior and son of former NFL and Florida State linebacker of the same name had 109 solo tackles and 11 quarterback hurries in his first season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His “quiet” leadership at linebacker contrast with “vocal” leader <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402489' first='Davon' last='Toney']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Experience and versatility are the hallmark of the Gray Collegiate defense. The War Eagles return Class 2A All-State selection <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359251' first='Zeb' last='Taylor']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359229' first='Trequan' last='Singleton'],</strong> and <strong>Ethan Raysor</strong> upfront, and <strong>LJ Holley</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473012' first='JP' last='Sweatt']</strong> are both hybrids who can play both at linebacker and the defensive line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be necessary for the War Eagles to counter depth concerns moving up from Class 2A to an eight-team region in Class 4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The non-region schedule will also provide a daunting challenge for Gray Collegiate. While the home contest against IMG Academy was dropped due to a scheduling conflict, the War Eagles still have defending Class 5A champion Dutch Fork, James Island and Baylor School (Tenn.), coached by Erik Kimrey.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've got a tough task ahead of us, but that's the reason why we're doing the things like we're doing like today,” Bryant said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1295522,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1319663' first='Royce' last='Williamson']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"172","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2410","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Gray Collegiate","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66620f0d83209"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">He looks to build upon his freshman season at Blythewood where he caught 21 passes for 440 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had 25 total tackles and two interceptions at defensive back for the Bengals. His speed will further enable quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='232668' first='Tyler' last='Waller'] to make deep throws to stretch the defense and he's available for kick returns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/20352857/6555537f5b3caa0270efdc77' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-666212915d0ba"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1295511,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Quinton Stroman","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"191","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2410","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Gray Collegiate ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66620f0d832b1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">After playing for Irmo as a junior, he heads to Gray Collegiate, which looks to replace two all-region wide receivers. He possesses a 79-inch wingspan, does well on route-running and his size could create matchup problems in the secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16220087/654638f2b3d2120f2833acf5' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-666212915d153"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1295535,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1395040' first='Royal' last='Williamson']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"180","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2495","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Gray Collegiate","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66620f0d8332f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">An aggressive defensive back who will help pressure the quarterback and assist with tackles. On film, he displays good speed in pursuing ball carriers and uses his long arms to effectively make open field tackles. He will help fill a defensive end in the secondary for Gray Collegiate. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19396503/656e3b2dc11a8507a8cedd55' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-666212915f55e"} /-->