On Campus: South Aiken Thoroughbreds

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AIKEN</strong> | There's plenty of reason for excitement heading into the summer for South Aiken's football program, which is blending new and familiar elements as it looks to make some noise in the new Region V-4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The new arrives in the form of a couple of high-profile transfers and the addition of artificial turf, and the familiar is a mix of long-time contributors closing out their high school careers alongside talented youngsters who made an immediate impact the past couple of seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All of the above was on display during South Aiken's spring game, which sends the T-Breds into summer competitions ready to build toward a big fall season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Our chemistry is getting better," rising senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1036785' first='Kyson' last='McLeod'] said. "The new transfers that are coming in, we played in middle school together, so they already knew what it was coming here. We're getting some young guys, and they're just coming along with it."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McLeod and defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1172344' first='Ray' last='Harris'] enjoyed productive springs, during which each one hauled in loads of college offers. The All-State duo has been key to South Aiken since coming over from Kennedy Middle, and they'll be reunited with former teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1654810' first='Drelyn' last='Brown'] as the dynamic running back has transferred back home following multiple All-State seasons at Silver Bluff.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brown is meshing nicely with his old friends, and head coach Chris Hamilton can already see that he has a good grasp of what the T-Breds do on offense under coordinator Bowen Smith. While Hamilton feels that the offense is lagging a bit behind the defense at this point, he's looking at that as a big positive for the defensive group rather than much of a slight at the offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1704301' first='Tommy' last='Burns'] is back for a second season at quarterback, and he'll have some familiar targets back like McLeod, [player_tooltip player_id='1825011' first='Deon' last='Simpkins'] and <strong>Jack Ziegler</strong> at receiver.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Receiver-wise, we worked on routes, cutting on the new turf and stuff like that," McLeod said. "Really, I'm just looking forward to the season, for real."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The offensive line returns everyone but Santos Whitt-Hernandez, and while Hamilton has high expectations as their position coach he's happy to point out they're far ahead of where they were at this point last year. Rising sophomore <strong>Josh Calcutt</strong> has stepped in to take on an expanded role, and Hamilton has seen him make a lot of progress during the spring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defense has been playing fast, with rising senior linebackers [player_tooltip player_id='1820078' first='Nick' last='Starlings'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1822589' first='Connor' last='Hamilton'] leading the way. [player_tooltip player_id='1819154' first='Eli' last='Parker'] had a big winter and added some bulk, and the coaching staff expects him to be tough to deal with this year at nose guard. Rising sophomore defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1840728' first='Jaydon' last='Moore'] transferred in from Aiken and has impressed with his high IQ and understanding of the game, and rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1820077' first='Bralyn' last='Bodie'] continues to hold down his spot at cornerback. [player_tooltip player_id='1615072' first='Levar' last='Gilchrist'] is moving up from the secondary to an outside linebacker position heading into his junior season, and rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1825166' first='Rasco' last='Hopkins'] should be a force on the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All of that adds up to a group looking to improve upon a five-win season last year, and Hamilton's goal with the calendar flipping to June is to keep working on jelling together toward that goal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->