GSPD’s 15 Biggest Player Storylines

The 2025 high school football season will be here before you know it. Impress your family, friends and neighbors with how much you know by gaining access to everything Prep RedZone South Carolina produces by <a href="https://prepredzone.com/subscribe/">becoming a subscriber today</a>. We are currently running a 40% off special on all annual subscriptions to the site. Simply use the offer code Guerin40 at checkout to take advantage.   The carryover from one season to the next isn't always as prevalent as it is in the Grand Strand & Pee heading into 2025.   The zone is loaded with returning talent. That's not to say the GSPD didn't lose a ton, because it did.   But as we continue to break down the zone under the scope of a wider lens, it's impossible to not wonder what the next few months will hold for these players. We've got bonafide stars adjusting to new head coaches, bigger names within their respective programs looking to take on a more recognizable position on a large scale and some teammates who are well positioned to dominate collectively this fall.   While we've already spent some time our on <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/07/gspds-best-zones-top-10-players/">preseason Top 10</a> for the zone, the second prong of our look at the GSPD is a list of players with interesting storylines who shouldn't be ignored in the weeks and months ahead.   [player_tooltip player_id='1371931' first='Jordan' last='Jenkins'] WR, Conway   Jenkins (pictured) has been a borderline elite talent on the football field (and basketball court) since his sophomore season. What he hasn't had is much consistency - both in terms of his production and the opportunities he has to catch the football. In the midst of playing with multiple quarterbacks, he's also been drawing more double teams than any other returning receiver in this chunk of the state. The Tigers have been looking for more ways to get him to a point where he's not simply catching passes and immediately having to fight off two would-be defenders. It hasn't been easy, as opponents know he's still there. But how Conway uses him in 2025 could be a bevy of deep throws, slants and even more as a ball carrier. Regardless, coach Josh Pierce knows the type of weapon he has at his disposal and the trick will be making it count.   [player_tooltip player_id='1267347' first='Alex' last='Sandt'] QB, St. James & [player_tooltip player_id='1429140' first='Christian' last='Royals'] QB, Socastee   Why did we pair these two senior quarterbacks? It's not simply about proximity. Yes, the two signal callers of the Highway 707 programs are leading offenses only a few miles apart. And, yes, both of them are experienced and hoping for big final seasons. But their importance to their respective programs can't possibly be understated. In Sandt, the Sharks have a big arm who can make just about any throw on the field. In Royal, the Braves have handed the keys to a gritty dual-threat dude spent last fall making the types of decisions that put Socastee into better situations with both his feet and arm. Now, package it all together and no two players are probably as vital to their squads playing football past the scheduled season finales on Halloween night.   [player_tooltip player_id='1639657' first='Walker' last='Willcox'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1165123' first='Mac' last='Burch'] LB, Trinity Collegiate    We quickly transition from two senior quarterbacks playing on opposing squads to a pair of linebacker teammates. Because what Burch and Willcox bring to the table likely sets the tone for the Titans in 2025. This is a program that lost all-state defensive end James Herbert to graduation and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1036752' first='Owen' last='Bex'] to the baseball fields. We believe the two defensive returners have more than what it takes to carry the load. Willcox led Trinity with 117 total stops last fall and added 22 tackles for loss. Burch wasn't far behind with 105 tackles and 20 tackles for loss. They're both ultra-aggressive against the run and have made more than a few teams one-dimensional. If these two pop off at the beginning of the season and the rest of the team follows suit, it could lead to a really nice season for Trinity.    [player_tooltip player_id='905534' first='Jaden' last='Ashe'] DL, Marlboro County    Back in February, we brought up why Ashe was such a big name to follow during the offseason. He's got the physical tools to attract plenty of college attention (he got his first offer from ECU in June). But what he hasn't had to date is a full high school season to show his stuff. The Bulldogs' issues in 2024 cost him nearly half of his time on the field under the lights, and a minor injury chipped away at some other snaps. Ashe, though, is potential personified. Verified at a hair over 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Ashe has a long wing span and a good bit of upper body strength. Ashe is going to be the focal point of Marlboro County's 3-4 scheme, but he also won't be alone up front. Fellow end [player_tooltip player_id='1422580' first='Kaiden' last='Walton'] has put on some considerable size and tackle [player_tooltip player_id='651061' first='Patrick' last='Williams'] impressed as the same sessions that drew Ashe his ECU offer. What Ashe does with a full complement up front - not to mention a full season - could be his personal springboard.    [player_tooltip player_id='1025771' first='Keryien' last='Brown'] [player_tooltip player_id='1267317' first='Daniel' last='Capehart'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1172360' first='Kelvion' last='Manning'] LB/DB, Dillon    Brown, Capehart and Manning are the type of packaged deal any coach in the state would love to have on its roster. And for as good as each of them have been individually, their combined impact is based on the interchangeability between them. Brown mostly plays middle linebacker. Capehart can play there or outside linebacker. Manning shifts between safety and outside linebacker. Now, look at their production from last fall as a trio: 325 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown (Manning). The fact that any one of them can back up another when someone needs a breather or simply that they support each other so much that they rarely have to come off the field is a major tipping point toward Dillon's advantage.    [player_tooltip player_id='797160' first='Moon' last='Gerald'] QB, Loris   Loris spent the majority of Gerald's junior campaign just beating opponents into submission. Double digit victories were the norm throughout the regular season, and one of the team's two losses (in September against Socastee) came against a Class 5A foe. That's what made the beat down against eventual 3A champ Oceanside in the Lower State finals sting so much. Now, we're going to see how Gerald responds to the abrupt ending is a major theme of Loris football in 2025. After all, there's plenty of room to grown. While his 19-to-2 touchdowns to interception rate was stellar, there's no reason to believe he can't up his completion percentage 56% last fall). And even though he threw for 1,557 yards, there's going to be an expectation and opportunity for him throwing the ball downfield more. With as many other offensive standouts are back, Gerald can lead them all to something big again.   [player_tooltip player_id='1672833' first='Trace' last='Hillian'] RB, and [player_tooltip player_id='1615056' first='Ford' last='Wallace'] QB, Hartsville    We want to take you back to the beginning of the 2021 season at Hartsville. It was then that the Red Foxes were putting their backfield into the hands of a young, inexperienced quarterback while having another young, inexperienced player lining up next to him. Things turned out pretty well for McKendrie Douglas and Carmello McDaniel, two guys now playing college ball after three fantastic seasons. Flash forward to 2025, and Hillian and Wallace - a pair of sophomores - are a huge part of the plan for not only this fall, but the next two, as well. Like their predecessors, Wallace and Hillian have already exhibited some huge potential. And, also like Douglass and McDaniel during their sophomore seasons, the newest partnership will have plenty of help. But how these two Red Foxes perform could be a driving force for a Hartsville team that is never out of the the conversation in Class 4A.    [player_tooltip player_id='1172365' first='Crawford' last='Poole'] LB, Cheraw   Poole's sophomore production puts him on a pretty exclusive list of players who could have the biggest impact on the Class 2A football season. He finished with 47 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and a blocked punt for the Braves. Something that's helped him accomplish all that has been a steady diet of teammates making their own big plays around him. For a team with big plans for 2025, though, there's no question that everything Poole has done in the past will be necessary this fall. The standup edge rusher looks more like a middle linebacker at times, but the effect is the same: If he puts quarterbacks and ball carriers on the ground behind the line of scrimmage, Cheraw could instantly start looking like the 2004-2007 teams that reached the Class 2A state championship four years in a row and won the last two.    [player_tooltip player_id='1165108' first='Zori' last='Pierce'] QB, Lamar   Pierce might just be the best quarterback in the state you've never heard of. The Silver Foxes' senior has a cannon for an arm but has completed 60 percent of his career passes over his 23 games as Lamar's starter. He's thrown 47 touchdowns over that span but has only been picked off five times - a semi-insane number considering he's thrown 316 career passes. And if the passing acumen wasn't enough, he's probably only a handful of games away from hitting 1,000 career rushing yards. Exactly how his senior season shapes up, though, can be placed into the TBD category. Pierce has a new head coach in Tyler Boyd who clearly has no issue going all-in on a small number of players, something he did well at Williamsburg Academy. If we see Pierce on special teams and defense throughout the fall, don't be surprised.    [player_tooltip player_id='473015' first='Tyleek' last='Dukes'] RB/DB, Kingstree    We've switched Dukes' position around on this site at least three times, and for good cause. He cranked up his freshman season as a starting corner and was one of just four players on the roster to pick off a pass. Then, as a sophomore, he finished second on the team with 66 tackles while leading the receivers in receptions and yards. Move to his junior year, and he again did well on defense while rushing for 1,800 yards and 21 touchdowns. He only added to his chameleonic career by briefly flirting with a transfer before pulling and about face and returning to the Blazers. It left him the opportunity to write a storybook ending to a splendid four-year career with Kingstree in his own hands. As a tailback, receiver, corner, safety or kickoff returner, his chances to excel are all over the field.

The 2025 high school football season will be here before you know it. Impress your family, friends and neighbors with how much you know by gaining access to everything Prep RedZone South Carolina produces by becoming a subscriber today. We are currently running a 40% off special on all annual subscriptions to the site. Simply use the offer code Guerin40 at checkout to take advantage.