2026 Rankings: College Sleepers No More

For a large number of players around South Carolina, the 2024 season might as well been called their moving year.    It was a campaign in which they went from lightly regarded college prospect to seemingly sure-fire locks to play at the next level. They were that impactful, that impressive.   That brings us to the following players. These eight are bonafide college prospects before any of them play another high school snap. We expect their offer sheets will reflect that by the time the 2025 season commences.   [player_tooltip player_id='1267285' first='JT' last='Williams'] LB, Summerville    The Green Wave had big plans for Williams heading into the season. He was charged with taking over for a pretty productive player, but it's safe to say he exceeded expectations. He put up 96 tackles to go along with 15 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries, seven pass break-ups and four forced fumbles. And with him and middle linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1639684' first='Tyree' last='Patton'] both back next year, 2025 could be a serious boon for both of them.     [player_tooltip player_id='1166986' first='Messiah' last='Jackson'] QB, South Florence    Jackson went from a sophomore incapable of beating a senior for the starting job during what could be described as an odd-ball offensive season for the Bruins to leading the Bruins to their third straight state championship game and second title in three seasons. He threw for 2,080 yards and 30 touchdowns, proving his arm was ready. He also used his 215 pounds to rush for 369 yards and another 11 touchdowns.     [player_tooltip player_id='1592182' first='Terence' last='Johnson'] ATH, Oceanside Collegiate    We recently heard a fantastic story about Johnson from last spring, before even we knew who he was. An NCAA Division-I school was on campus for another recruit, saw Johnson in the hallway and immediately expressed some interest without having seen him play. Sight unseen, we weren't sure what to expect from him, but then he went out as a first-year receiver (on top of other duties) and impressed everyone.     [player_tooltip player_id='1395046' first='KD' last='Hainsworth'] WR, Mountain View Prep   Hainsworth (pictured) started to let people know what he was capable of as a sophomore at Dorman. As a junior at MVP, he hit a whole other stride. While he fell just shy of 1,000 yards receiving (mostly because a large part of the year involved blowouts where he was on the bench), he did top that milestone in total yards while reaching the end zone 17 times. With him and [player_tooltip player_id='473001' first='Jaylen' last='McGill'] both back next year, the sky's the limit for his production.    [player_tooltip player_id='860400' first='Drevon' last='Dopson'] QB, Brookland-Cayce   When the junior signal-caller transferred to B-C last year, he was almost immediately the starting quarterback. And though those plans  took a hit while he spent the summer dealing with significant medical issues, what we saw once he was ready to go was a quarterback ready to start closing the gap on some of the positional peers ahead of him in last September's rankings. Dopson has all the looks of a climber as he inches toward his senior year.     [player_tooltip player_id='1395031' first='Caden' last='Muskus'] OL, Chapin   Muskus flew a little under the radar coming into the season, if for no other reason that the 2026 tackle market is jammed with top-flight talent. We're hear to tell you Muskus isn't far off that top tier of linemen. He's got a good reach, more than enough pure size for the left tackle spot, enough of a mean streak to get after it and the type of mobility that should open doors for him at multiple spots along the line at the next level.     [player_tooltip player_id='1165163' first='Zamaurious' last='Robertson'] ATH, Dillon    The fun part of Robertson's game is that he makes us constantly question whether he'll be a defensive back or a receiver in college. He's that good on either side of the ball, and it's why we've left his athlete designation even though he had a greater impact at receiver. Despite missing two games to injury, Robertson's stat line was as follows: 63 receptions, 948 yards, nine touchdowns, six kickoff returns for 136 yards, two punt returns for 63 yards and nine tackles and three picks on defense.    [player_tooltip player_id='473028' first='Donovan' last='Miles'] DL, Woodland    Initially an offensive lineman at Woodland, Miles has taken off on the other side of the ball. As a junior, he had 87 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and three forced fumbles. He's got talent around him on the Wolverines' defense and should continue to take advantage of single-blocking schemes for another season. He can start off the edge or more inside and do some damage from either.

For a large number of players around South Carolina, the 2024 season might as well been called their moving year.