15 Transfers You Can’t Ignore

Since May 1, we've tracked more than 400 transfers heading to new homes inside the Palmetto State.   That figure isn't even the actuality of the open-border policy, in part because we were only looking at players who were already in our system. It also doesn't include even more who moved in from out of state.   As you can see, everyone charged with following what is affectionately known as South Carolina's high school transfer portal has had a busy few months.    The sticker shock of all that movement, though, is starting to wear off. We've been dissecting the effects of the transfers from a bird's eye vantage point. And while some of them look to be grabbing a stronger individual foothold than others, what we keep coming back to is a rather simply philosophy.   What will this new formula for player movement look like?    Here, we've picked out 15 of the transfers that we believe will reflect positive results for the respective players and their new teams rather quickly. All the ingredients are there for these program newcomers to pop off immediately.   [player_tooltip player_id='591391' first='Blake' last='Betette']   Position: Receiver   New school: AC Flora   Old school: Richland Northeast   Notable: Weeks after Betette verbally committed to Dartmouth, Betette didn't only decide to take his 5.0+ GPA to the Falcons. He's a talented receiver who was former RNE star [player_tooltip player_id='1259789' first='Will' last='Wilson']'s favorite target for most of the last two years. Now, he's joining an offense that plans to sling it all over the place behind quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1025784' first='Roper' last='Wentzky'] and a slew of receivers who are all going to take the pressure off each other.   [player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson']   Position: Running back/linebacker   New school: Gray Collegiate   Old school: Gilbert    Notable: Williamson picked a good time to make the short jump over to GCA. The War Eagles had an immediate opening at tailback to complement a budding passing game. Defenses won't be able to lock in on the rushing attack as much as they have in the past, and Williamson is likely going to find more breathing room than he had last year with the Indians. We're not even sure how much linebacker he'll play, as he's going to get all the reps he can handle on offense.    [player_tooltip player_id='409882' first='Jaden' last='Wuerth']    Position: Defensive line   New school: Dutch Fork   Old school: Aquinas (Ga.)   Notable: It's about time someone decent wanted to play at Dutch Fork. For us, that's said in jest. For teams looking to stop the Dutch Fork freight train, it's a different sentiment. Wuerth put up an insane 147 total tackles and 38 tackles for loss as a sophomore at Aquinas. Now at Dutch Fork, he's willing to put his personal numbers on the back burner to line up opposite Michigan commit Juilan Walker on the Silver Foxes' defensive line. Wuerth is a further P4 commit who likely makes this list no matter where he goes. But, yeah, Dutch Fork.   [player_tooltip player_id='1267282' first='Daylin' last='Haltiwanger']   Position: Receiver   New school: Orangeburg-Wilkinson   Old school: Hammond   Notable: When you play receiver at Hammond, your spots are going to be kept in check, not in terms of defenses shutting you down, but rather the rest of your offense making throwing the ball oftentimes unnecessary. Haltiwanger hauled in 21 receptions for 333 yards and six scores as a junior. At O-W, a Bruins' rushing attack that went for 3,000 yards last year is about to have another pass catcher to take the eyes off guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1126113' first='Jordan' last='Avinger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1361647' first='Derrick' last='Thomas'] - a pair of guys who put up three-quarters of those rushing yards.    [player_tooltip player_id='1165128' first='RJ' last='Brown']   Position: Athlete   New school: South Pointe   Old school: Lancaster   Notable: Brown made statewide headlines when he led an out-of-nowhere charge for Lancaster in the 2023 playoffs. He's almost assuredly not going to play quarterback for the Stallions - they sort of have a dude there. But what Brown can do is take handoffs and direct snaps, catch passes, return kicks, start at safety or line up at any other combination of positions for a freakishly loaded South Pointe squad. With respect to what he's done previously, Brown may be a part of more wins this fall than he's had in three years with the Bruins.    [player_tooltip player_id='340230' first='Meek' last='Slydell']   Position: Quarterback   New school: Dorman   Old school: Asheville (N.C.)   Notable: Since Slydell announced in the spring that he was coming south of the state line, he's giving Dorman fans even more reason for optimism. The Cavs already have an established running back in [player_tooltip player_id='1664350' first='Nick' last='Means'] (772 yards, four TDs last fall) and a defense that should further reduce some of the offensive pressure. But in Slydell, Dorman now plugs in a quarterback who had excellent efficiency (46-19 TD-INT ratio) from his 30-game career in North Carolina. It might be dump-and-go to start, but it won't stay that way for long.    [player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan']   Position: Running back   New school: Stratford   Old school: Goose Creek   Notable: Arguably the biggest/latest transfer of the summer, McGowan (pictured) worked out with Goose Creek all spring and summer, only to move over to nearby Stratford less than 10 days prior to the end of the de facto transfer window. Many of the other pieces McGowan lost via other transfers from Goose Creek, he now finds anew over at Stratford. Maybe none of those are more vital than Knights quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1165148' first='Jachin' last='Davis'] (Liberty commit). These two could form an elite backfield for the next few months.   [player_tooltip player_id='1639826' first='JayAun' last='Perkins']   Position: Receiver   New school: South Florence   Old school: West Florence   Notable: The transfer to nearby South Florence made sense for Perkins when considering a family situation. The on-paper reaction to the move sits pretty well, too. Perkins caught nearly one-third of the completions thrown by West Florence quarterbacks last year. He's got some DI traction and now joins a team that has found various ways to make it to three straight state championship games but lost its top two receivers - Jayden Sellers and Lennix Valerie - to graduation and college programs of their own. Perkins will be highly targeted in his one and only season with the Bruins.   [player_tooltip player_id='1094520' first='Jace' last='Grass']   Position: Quarterback    New school: Daniel   Old school: Pendleton   Notable: Not all that long ago, many considered Grass to be Daniel's quarterback of the future. That being the case, he's right where he initially intended to be. Grass was beaten out for the job by Grayson Clary prior to the 2024 season. That prompted Grass to head to Pendleton for his freshman season, when he started for the Bulldogs and threw for just shy of 2,000 yards. Now, after Clary transferred to Rabun Gap (Ga.), Grass is back in a Lions' uniform. He's got weapons galore around him.   [player_tooltip player_id='1172366' first='Tyrone' last='Jennings']   Position: Defensive line   New school: Irmo   Old school: White Knoll   Notable: We're not sure how much more stacked Irmo's defensive line could possibly look on paper, and a good chunk of that belief stems from Jennings' transfer during the spring. Jennings' sophomore season at White Knoll spells it out: 102 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks. He's an active big man who has the size of an nose guard and the footwork of an end. Jennings is among the more developed defensive tackles statewide, regardless of class, and he's joining a handful of others who already have DI offers and/or have already committed.   [player_tooltip player_id='1422535' first='Jayvin' last='Risher']   Position: Athlete   New school: Hilton Head   Old school: Hampton County   Notable: Risher may very well avoid the learning curve that many players who transferred up two classifications are going through this summer. For starters, Hampton County's two-back set-up from last year will look awfully similar to what he's going to be a part of at Hilton Head. Risher and [player_tooltip player_id='1165165' first='Jaylen' last='Singletary'] rushed for nearly 1,900 yards between them. This fall, Risher will be teaming up with [player_tooltip player_id='1603740' first='Thaddeus' last='Czarnecki'] (794 yards, 10 touchdowns last season). The duo should be effective right off the bat.   [player_tooltip player_id='1592547' first='Brody' last='Tonon']   Position: LB/RB   New school: Bishop England   Old school: Philip Simmons   Notable: With respect to everything the Bishops did in 2024 - winning the region title being first on the list - this is a squad that now adds a whole lot of grit to its roster. Along with younger brothers Trevor and Chase, [player_tooltip player_id='1592547' first='Brody' last='Tonon'] is the type of guy who can stand out on both sides of the ball without having to be the star. He's going to buckle up and try to hit whatever's in his path. That added toughness factor will come in hand in October, where each week of the region slate looks different than the previous one.   [player_tooltip player_id='473024' first='Ryan' last='Campbell']   Position: Running back   New school: Ashley Ridge   Old school: Fort Dorchester   Notable: Campbell is one of the more explosive tailbacks in the entire state. He's got top-shelf speed and the type of vision to max it out long before most opponents know what hit them. His move to Ashley Ridge gives the Swamp Foxes a clear-cut No. 1 tailback who can help keep the offensive balance. There could be some bumps in the road, especially early in the season, but if Campbell is consistent, this squad should have no issue averaging 40 points per game, something it has done each of the last two seasons.    [player_tooltip player_id='1172370' first='Kanye' last='Reed']   Position: Receiver   New school: Hammond   Old school: Blythewood   Notable: The 2027 receiver has some size at 6-foot (and change) and 187 pounds. What he also has is a fluidity to his game that is putting him pretty high up on some recruiting boards. He was second for the Bengals last fall in receptions (43) and yards (581) while hauling in six touchdowns. And if he gets involved in the return game, he could turn into an absolute nightmare for the Skyhawks' opponents in 2025. Reed is a gamer, and all it takes is a ball in his hands for him to show it.    [player_tooltip player_id='1615021' first='Dexter' last='Chavous']    Position: Defensive line   New school: Summerville   Old school: Silver Bluff   Notable: Back in the spring, while Chavous was still at Silver Bluff, he was verified at 6-foot-1.5 and 331 pounds. It made him one of the two or three biggest players in the Class of 2028, and then he backed up his size during the Carolinas Coaches Combines by constantly shoving his way around. Now at Summerville, Chavous will have more help on the line and behind him than he's ever experienced. We should see a decent amount of growth while he's getting reps against some of the other bigger schools in South Carolina.

Since May 1, we've tracked more than 400 transfers heading to new homes inside the Palmetto State.