CCC West Florence: 2027 Burners and Rising Stars

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class of 2027 included 25 different players who hit at least 21 miles per hour Sunday at the Carolinas Coaches Combine at West Florence.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And of the top six fastest players regardless of class, four were from the rising junior crop, and each of the four were from different programs. This wasn't just about one or two programs training players the right way.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speed was everywhere, starting with the top five fastest 2027s on site at West Florence.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ja'Mere Ross</strong> RB, Johnsonville - 22.56 mph</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664635' first='Myles' last='Bryant']</strong> WR, Westwood - 22.48 mph</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664643' first='Calvin' last='Wofford']</strong> RB, Crestwood - 22.48 mph</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1271257' first='Nick' last='Gordon'] ATH, Cheraw - 22.45 mph</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664620' first='Gavin' last='Elliott']</strong> DB, Gilbert - 22.10 mph</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those guys should all be lauded for those collective performances, but they weren't the only ones who stood out on the turf Sunday.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664364' first='Dwayne' last='Louallen']</strong> QB, Central&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The bad news for Central opponents in 2025 is that Louallen (6-foot-1 and 210 pounds) was already a tough assignment when he elects to run. The worse news is that Louallen has 1. Plenty more room to develop physically and 2. His arm strength is already there. Central's quarterback lit up a couple defensive backs with zipped passes they had no chance to knock down and displayed some touch that wasn't always there last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1078102' first='Darius' last='Carter']</strong> WR, Ridge View</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carter passed the eye test with his performance during the passing drills and competition. His data from the Cat 1 vests was pretty darn good, too. He hit 21.88 miles per hour, showed a great burst off the line in terms of his acceleration figures and packaged his 5033 total yards of movement during the total session with more than 10 percent at a sprint distance. He's not a huge receiver, but his activity made that a moot point.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036785' first='Kyson' last='McLeod']</strong> WR, South Aiken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McLeod was part of the first crop of 2027s we ranked less than two months into his freshman season back in 2023. That player we ranked then pales in comparison to the one we saw Sunday. McLeod showed up at a hair under 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds. That's three inches and nearly 40 pounds more than when he debuted for the Thoroughbreds.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1581470' first='George' last='Handley']</strong> DL, Carolina Forest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We mentioned it earlier in the week, and it's worth repeating: Handley (5-foot-9, 216 pounds) was arguably the most impressive defensive lineman in the afternoon session, and his combine jersey was proof positive. He was beating opposing offensive linemen so bad that his shirt was shredded by the end of the one-on-one sessions. Handley (pictured, No. 148) absolutely earned the replacement, as those bigger bodies had no choice but to grab and hold on the best they could. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1321038' first='Justyn' last='Joint']</strong> RB, Cheraw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joint isn't taken his offseason job lightly. As he prepares to move into the Braves' starting tailback spot replacing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1303846' first='Cam' last='McClendon']</strong> (1,030 yards, 12 touchdowns), Joint showed up Sunday and moved extremely well in the tailback drills. He's not lighting fast, but as we saw with his 200-yard game against Chesterfield last year, he can break some extended runs and carry a bigger workload.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>De'Eric Davis</strong> QB, South Florence</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We heard at least one person ask Davis if he was a defensive end. And when he chimed in at 6-foot-3.75 and 219 pounds, the assumption wasn't that off. And with Bruins starter [player_tooltip player_id='1166986' first='Messiah' last='Jackson'] having another year of eligibility, it stands to reason that South will find other ways to get Davis involved. His size is undeniable, and one way or the other we're going to see him on the field more very soon.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036757' first='Peyton' last='Grant']</strong> DL, Crestwood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A year ago, Grant was already turning heads by the time we reached the combine season. This time around, the results were indicative of another year of doing the right things. Grant added 29 points to his 6-foot-1 frame (now at 313 pounds) and more than doubled his bench reps to 17 (from eight last year). Despite all that, he's still a potentially dominant end or tackle along the defensive line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->