Lowcountry’s Best: Zone’s Top 10 Players

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 Lowcountry is home to one of the biggest collections of Class 5A programs.   The Charleston area comprises half of the entire Lower State field and a quarter of all such teams in the state. We mention that first because when looking at the top players from the zone, focusing solely on the big boys means you'll miss everything else that's happening in the Lowcountry.   The zone is jam-packed with talent all the way down to the SCISA ranks.   It made picking a Top 10 list very, very interesting.   Today, we kick off a three-part, wider-angle look at the Lowcountry with just that.   We broke down 2024 production, offseason growth, potential to impact a game or lead a program this fall and their individual footprints on the recruiting landscape. It led us to this.   These 10 players have each done something special already. And we don't think we've seen anything close to their best to date.    Let's have at it.   [player_tooltip player_id='473011' first='Desmond' last='Green'] OL, Timberland   Once thought to be a big-time tackle recruit in the making, Green's chance to take over in the trenches really started when he transitioned to the guard position. Ultimately, he's of better use to Timberland in the interior, sure, but he also clued in even more college programs to what he could do at the next level. At 6-foot-5 and north of 330 pounds, he moves better than someone of that size is supposed to all the while manhandling the vast majority of defensive linemen who have challenged him. Green appears to be a shoo-in for an all-star spot this December, and that honor will chase his three years of dominance for the Wolves.   [player_tooltip player_id='378969' first='Jaiden' last='Kelly-Murray'] ATH, Summerville   Arguably the craziest fact about everything that Kelly-Murray has done so far in a Green Wave jersey is that he won't even turn 16 years old until mid-September. He started for Summerville as a freshman, and all he did was rack up 110 tackles, 10 pass break-ups and four picks. Then, as a sophomore, he moved to the other side of the ball and we saw a completely different version of the same player. He caught 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns worth of passes and rushed for another 215 yards and four more scores. In the midst of that, he played some spot duty still on defense. Just for good measure, he added another two picks to his defensive resume.   [player_tooltip player_id='1094944' first='Aiden' last='Manavian'] QB, Oceanside Collegiate   When Manavian (pictured) was inserted into the starting lineup as a freshman during the playoffs to replace the Landsharks' injured signal caller, only a handful of folks had really heard his name outside of the program. Not only did that change in a hurry when he spurred a run to the state championship, he followed it up as a sophomore with a full season of highlights. Manavian threw for 3,469 yards and 19 touchdowns. He topped 300 passing yards five times, with three of those coming in the playoffs and the other two in back-to-back weeks against region opponents. How good was he? In the offseason, there were unfounded rumors of him transferring to at least six different programs.   [player_tooltip player_id='1394988' first='Aedan' last='McCarthy'] QB, Bluffton    Over the last six-eight months, McCarthy has gone through another physical maturation that's put him at 6-foot-4 (and change) and 205 pounds. He's been on the taller side for a couple years, but hitting that next upward trend is only going to continue to pay dividends for him in terms of his vision and breaking down defenses. Now, that's all happening for a player who as a junior already competed 60 percent of his passes for 2,524 yards and 29 touchdowns against only six interceptions. You didn't think Bluffton was going to rest on that alone, right? Because McCarthy also rushed for 623 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He's not a dual-threat guy in the strictest of definitions, but that ground portion of his game makes him that much more dangerous.   [player_tooltip player_id='1172368' first='Andrew' last='Massey'] LB, Hilton Head    Much like McCarthy, Massey is starting to add size at a time when his coaching staff is asking even more of him. Despite missing three games a season ago, Massey still finished with 68 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a pick. He also blocked a field goal. Now 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, what Massey brings to the table in 2025 - when he's still just a junior, mind you - could be the impetus for Hilton Head challenging to hit 10 wins this fall even though the Seahawks are playing in a region that is starting to collective rise. His production levels will all increase the more he's on the field and the more he continues to add mentally and physically to what he's already got going for him.    [player_tooltip player_id='1618012' first='Tony' last='O'Banner'] ATH, Thomas Heyward Academy    Touchdown Tony isn't just a catchy nickname. It's fitting as all get up, too. Over the course of his four seasons for the SCISA program, O'Banner has reached the end zone 89 times (85 rushing, four receiver, one kickoff return) while throwing for 10 more. That's right, the next touchdown he is responsible for will be the 100th of his career. He'll also enter his senior season with 211 career tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, six interceptions and five forced fumbles. Translation: O'Banner has every argument to say he's had among the two or three most influential careers of any player at the SCISA level over the course of his career.   [player_tooltip player_id='473021' first='Caden' last='Ramsey'] DB/WR, Cross   Ramsey played in 14 games last fall as a junior. He picked off 13 passes and recovered three fumbles. That's not a bad turnover margin, and one you can expect from the guy who led the state in interceptions. But we know by now that what he does from the safety position is only half of the physical presence he brings to the Cross game plan. Because he also caught 40 passes for 749 yards and nine touchdowns. It's a good time to remind you that he did that while sharing the offense with one of the state's top tailbacks from last fall. Not enough? He had seven wildcat carries throughout the year and scored touchdowns on five of them. It's of little surprise that the    [player_tooltip player_id='1036733' first='Henry' last='Rivers'] QB, Berkeley   Rivers has already started 24 games as a Stag. And if he matches his production from his first two season over the next two, he'll graduate with somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,600 passing yards, 2,600 rushing yards and 120 or so combined touchdowns. We're not the only ones who think the second half of his high school career won't be even more prolific than what he's already done. Rivers is the top dual-threat quarterback in the class and behind only Manavian in our quarterback rankings. We're projecting some with Berkeley's signal caller, sure, but we've also had enough of a body of work to know that even his status quo is pretty darn special.    [player_tooltip player_id='1165165' first='Jaylen' last='Singletary'] RB/DB, Hampton County    There's a give and take to the high school transfer window that has drastically affected teams statewide. Singletary is on a short list of highly productive players from last fall who is about to see an already impressive workload increase. With his former backfield mate off to another program, Singletary will get first crack at many of the voided carries in the Hurricanes' run-based offense. Considering he went for 1,129 yards and 11 scores last year while averaging nearly 11 yards per carry, 1,500 yards almost feels inevitable. Fans should also see him get a few more targets in the team's relatively limited passing game. Now, add in the fact that he's had 40-plus tackles from his spot in the defensive secondary each of the last two years, and his diverse role will again be vital for Hampton County.   [player_tooltip player_id='1215391' first='Jayven' last='Williams'] RB, Summerville    Looking around the state last year, we're not sure there was another player promoted from the JV ranks who held more expectations than Williams. Despite the increase in competition, the former lower-level star kept his mojo working on the varsity level like nothing had changed. In his debut, he put up 72 yards and a touchdown and then proceeded to adjust to the speed and workload with ease. He rushed for 2,007 yards and 25 touchdowns. Williams had 11 100-yard games. And he went for 250-plus in back-to-back games against James Island and Ashley Ridge in October. He does it all with a top gear exhibited by college skill position players.

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.