2025 Rankings: Stockrisers 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If the 2024 football season showed us anything, it was that members of the senior class were not done impressing us.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Among our 500-plus ranked players in the Class of 2025 are 28 who proved their last push was worthy of extra consideration in our list. These players were frequently mentioned throughout the year, putting up outstanding performance after outstanding performance.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We didn't so much move them up as we had no choice but do exactly that.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THE SHAKE-UP ARTISTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We can't discuss the changes to this class without first mentioning the two high-profile receivers formerly in the Class of 2026 who moved up a year in early October.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Irmo's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='377560' first='Donovan' last='Murph']</strong> and then Ridge View's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='233146' first='Jordon' last='Gidron']</strong> made waves, especially when Gidron packaged his announcement with his commitment (South Carolina). Gidron was dealing with an injury that sidelined him for several games at the time, and while he had limited opportunities to show off his abilities upon his return, his overall body of work had long since solidified his spot inside the top 20 overall in the Class of 2025.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Murph - who is keeping his commitment quiet until January - will graduate this spring as the No. 14 overall player in the Class of 2025. Because while he had heavy competition for the top spot in the positional rankings, he wasn't far off. In the Class 5A, Division II state championship game, he put an exclamation point on his career by adding another 123 yards and two more touchdowns to his impressive two-year run.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NEW TO THE TOP 10</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of receivers, South Florence's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers']</strong> was an electric playmaker who not only seized control of the top positional ranking in the Class of 2025, but also the No. 5 overall spot. Sellers, who missed the back half of the 2023 season with a knee injury, stormed back to catch 59 passes for 1,009 yards and 14 touchdowns. If that wasn't enough, he was featured in wildcat sets that added another 485 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground and tacked on another 417 yards on kickoff and punt returns to his senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1249802' first='Damarcus' last='Leach']</strong> rose way up the ranks after putting Abbeville on his back all the way to the Class A state championship. Also a South Carolina commitment (like Sellers), Leach went from all-state defensive back to two-way star. As the Panthers' starting quarterback, he rushed for 1,035 yards and 19 touchdowns and threw for 1,077 yards and 17 scores. He did that while remaining one of the top defensive backs in the state. On that side of the ball, he had 26 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NEW TO THE TOP 25</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not counting the Dutch Fork tandem of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012706' first='Josh' last='Smith']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012606' first='Elgin' last='Sessions']</strong> - who were already inside the top 25 but bumped a few spots - there were a host of newcomers into that threshold.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That part of the list is based around offensive standouts: Linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797158' first='Shedrick' last='Sarratt']</strong> (Gaffney), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='762756' first='Kendall' last='Walton']</strong> (Lamar) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157815' first='Kevin' last='Peay']</strong> (Lancaster), quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='367350' first='Jaden' last='Cummings']</strong> (Summerville), tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157738' first='Mike' last='Tyler']</strong> (Hammond) and tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157761' first='Mason' last='Picket-Hicks']</strong> (South Pointe, pictured), who made a massive leap up 55 spots after rushing for 2,665 yards and 30 touchdowns for the Stallions this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BIG MOVERS AND SHAKERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Up and down the top 100, we had more than enough reason to push several players from the realm of the triple digits.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While his jump wasn't the biggest, Daniel linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157945' first='Spencer' last='Conn']</strong> finishes his career No. 26 in the overall rankings after his 127 total tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss gave him just shy of 400 stops and 40.5 tackles for loss.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dutch Fork offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012842' first='Josh' last='Benson']</strong> went from 115 overall to No. 46 after developing quickly and helping the Silver Foxes to yet another state title while averaging 39 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Likewise, Westside tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157819' first='Sharode' last='Richardson']</strong> was also participating in the Weekend of Champion after rushing for almost 1,200 yards and giving the Rams a heavy ground presence alongside their dangerous air attack.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loris defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='464883' first='Javon' last='Johnson']</strong> also climbed more than 50 spot to No. 59 overall after wrapping up his outstanding four-year varsity career with his best effort yet. He added 22 tackles for loss and 91 more stops to his resume.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Or how about tailback/linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012859' first='Karmello' last='Jones']</strong> of Cross, who at times was a one-man wrecking ball in the Class A ranks. Or <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254122' first='Jamarcus' last='Smith']</strong> of Gaffney, the talented receiver who stepped in behind center to will his team to one of the most exciting games of the year. Or defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359137' first='Yasir' last='Smith']</strong> of Summerville and his 20 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and 19 quarterback hurries. Or center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157979' first='Ryan' last='Love']</strong> of Irmo and his ability to keep all-everything quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand']</strong> not only protected, but in rhythm. Or Fairfield Central converted tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012718' first='TyDarion' last='Grier']</strong> and his ability to take over yet another position.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumter joined the discussion in a big what with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359132' first='Jeremiah' last='Burson']</strong> (linebacker) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012696' first='Kameron' last='Fortune']</strong> (tailback) making similar jumps, while center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1278414' first='John' last='Hammond']</strong> (Spartanburg), running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272717' first='Tre' last='Leonard']</strong> (South Florence), linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605531' first='Will' last='Massey']</strong> (Northwestern) and linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012620' first='Web' last='Barnes']</strong> (Hartsville) will also all finish their careers inside the top 100 following their impressive senior seasons.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But no player jumped more from the last rankings cycle to this one than <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1316823' first='Dru' last='Darby']</strong> of Dorman. The effective middle linebacker spurred a significant defensive improvement, six wins and a trip back to the Class 5A playoffs. Darby moved north more than 340 spots on the strength of his performances week after week.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->