Leaders in the Clubhouse: All-State Offensive Players

Football is a game of blocking and tackling, as we all know, and even at its most basic level the team that wins is the team with more points on the scoreboard.   The list that follows includes some of the very best in the state at helping their teams accomplish that.   Blockers, passers, rushers, receivers - they're all here. The video game numbers, the major-college offers and the trophy cases they've helped stock all justify their inclusion on our preseason All-State team, and those are all reasons they should be considered the front-runners for the postseason lists, too.   [player_tooltip player_id='691267' first='CJ' last='Brooks'] OL, Gaffney   Gaffney's offense moved the ball in a variety of ways last season, and each of those ways started pretty much in the same manner - with No. 72 cleaning someone's clock. The Indians graduated most of their major contributors on offense from a statistical standpoint, but their biggest returner is the 6-foot-4, 325-pound UAB commit that will give those new starters at the skill positions plenty of room to operate - and they can rest assured they won't get caught from behind by anyone who's crossed paths with Brooks, who loves to finish his blocks.   [player_tooltip player_id='1647592' first='Corey' last='Gleaton'] WR, Gray Collegiate   Gleaton is the kind of player who seems to always elevate his level of play when the lights are at their brightest. Well, it doesn't get much brighter than at the 5A level, where plenty of the state's biggest schools will be eager to defend their seat at the table against the War Eagles. And that should play right into Gleaton's hands. He caught 52 balls for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and that was while the War Eagles' "new" passing game was still getting settled. The offense returns a ton of talent, which should mean an even brighter outlook for Gleaton.   [player_tooltip player_id='1094520' first='Jace' last='Grass'] QB, Daniel   Great expectations can sometimes be a burden to a young athlete who's not quite yet ready for the spotlight. Or, in the case of Grass, said expectations can then become the baseline after a stellar sophomore campaign. He completed 62.1% of his passes for 2,779 yards and 31 touchdowns - against only two interceptions - and rushed for four more scores to help Daniel to its eighth consecutive season of double-digit wins. What could he possibly do for an encore? That's the fun part. He can put the ball wherever he wants to, whenever he wants to, and he's only gotten better as he's gotten more comfortable running the offense.   [player_tooltip player_id='1172364' first='Mah'ky' last='Green'] RB, Cross   Green is a "catch him if you can" type of running back, and that "if" is an awfully big one - because most defenses tasked with stopping him simply haven't been able to do it. He rushed for 1,601 yards on only 158 carries last season, averaging a shade over a first down per attempt, went over 100 yards in nine of the Trojans' 13 games and scored 16 times on the ground to go with two more touchdowns as a receiver. He's one of the fastest players in the state, regardless of classification, and the truly scary part about his speed is that it's not just of the straight-line variety. In many cases it took just one move near the line of scrimmage, leaving everyone on the Cross sideline signaling touchdown.   [player_tooltip player_id='429920' first='Sam' last='Holliday'] QB, Fountain Inn   Holliday would be a dangerous quarterback even if he never threw the football. That's how effective of a runner he is. Here's the thing, though. He's developed into a deadly passer, which has made him a true dual threat. Last year's numbers support that. He ran for 897 yards and 17 touchdowns on 121 carries while also completing 66.5% of his passes for 2,123 yards and 23 scores against only six interceptions. How he truly makes this offense go is how even-keeled he remains, and where that really makes life hard on a defense is when he's scrambling. He's too good of a runner to leave him that space, and he's too good of a passer to come up to make the stop. Good luck.   [player_tooltip player_id='1809928' first='Nathan' last='Huff'] OL, Greer   Greer continues to churn out ultra-productive running backs, which certainly is a testament to the caliber of athlete that area continues to produce at that position. Ask any of those backs, though, how they got there, and they'll tell you it's because of the big guys up front. Huff is the latest on that list, and he's a leader on a veteran, hard-working offensive line group that takes great delight in doing the dirty work. The 6-foot-4, 295-pounder is technically sound and plays with an edge, which is exactly the kind of player you want setting an example up front.   [player_tooltip player_id='1172363' first='Khristian' last='Jackson'] WR, Ridge View (pictured)   Jackson defies categorization as a receiver. On one play, he's your classic jump ball guy that high-points it above the defensive back. On another, he's the speed guy flying past the secondary for a deep ball. On another, he's the shifty receiver shaking defenders out of of their cleats on a bubble screen. On the next, he's a "throw it anywhere, and he'll pull it in" hands-team kind of guy. And if that wasn't enough, throw in another play and he'll show off his muscle by fighting through pass interference to haul in the ball. His job is to go get the football, and he's always in the "employee of the month" conversation.   [player_tooltip player_id='1822035' first='Ashton' last='Kellermann'] WR, Philip Simmons   Kellermann may have caught some people by surprise last year after a quiet sophomore campaign. The 5-foot-8, 156-pounder probably didn't draw too much attention coming into his junior season, then promptly went for 206 yards in the opener and never really looked back. Plenty more eyes should be on him after a 70-catch, 1,314-yard, 14-touchdown season, and we don't expect that to slow him down very much. He's still going to get open, he's still going to catch the football, and he's still going to get into the end zone.   [player_tooltip player_id='1151291' first='Brody' last='Lorenzo'] OL, Dutch Fork   Scroll down for just a second, skill position players. Now then, where are football games won? That's right, in the trenches. Dutch Fork has a habit of winning roughly 12 of them per season, often including the big one in December, and for the Silver Foxes it all starts up front. And in Lorenzo, they have a guy they can put in any spot on the offensive line and genuinely believe they have one of the best in the nation at that position. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound junior mauls opposing defensive linemen, who can consider themselves lucky to meet him at the line of scrimmage - it's much scarier for the linebackers and defensive backs who see him downfield with a full head of steam.   [player_tooltip player_id='1822457' first='Brian' last='McMillan'] QB, Bamberg-Ehrhardt   It still hasn't gotten old for us to remind everyone that McMillan accounted for 70 total touchdowns last season. Forty-seven of those were through the air to punctuate a whopping 4,225 passing yards, and he added 23 more scores and 951 more yards on the ground as he led the Red Raiders to the Class A state championship while authoring the SCHSL's only undefeated season in 2025. And he did that as a first-year starting quarterback. He's gaining a deeper understanding of the position and improving mentally to go along with his physical gains, which means he has the potential to raise a bar that only he cleared a year ago.   [player_tooltip player_id='1172352' first='Reed' last='Paolucci'] OL, Blythewood   "They wanted him at West Point" is probably the most concise way we could sum up Paolucci as a football player, but where's the fun in keeping it short and sweet? The Army commit is a versatile offensive lineman who can play at any spot and moves incredibly well at 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds. As in, well enough that the running back doesn't have to slow down to let him get out in front. And that's when defensive players who haven't been paying attention in physics class are given the unfortunate reminder that force equals mass times acceleration - and Paolucci is a very forceful lineman.   [player_tooltip player_id='1036774' first='Amare' last='Patterson'] WR, Bluffton   Patterson is Bluffton's leading returning receiver, which means his YAC attack could get an awful lot stronger after a 912-yard, 10-touchdown junior season. The 6-foot, 170-pound North Carolina commit has drawn a lot of attention nationwide this summer, and he'll draw plenty more of it from opposing coaches this fall. It probably won't matter. He's box-office with the ball in his hands, and the increased targets he sees as WR1 will only give the staff in Chapel Hill even more reason to get him on the field much sooner rather than later.   [player_tooltip player_id='1824948' first='Riggs' last='Savage'] TE, Powdersville   Calling Savage an old-school tight end is a massive compliment that still probably doesn't fully do him justice. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior is an excellent blocker who plays the position like a sixth lineman, for sure, and he's also a credible threat in the passing game to where he can line up like a slot receiver and utilize his burst in a variety of ways. That combination makes him the most dangerous man on the field in short-yardage situations, and Powdersville has no shortage of big targets out there.   [player_tooltip player_id='1036777' first='Trevon' last='Williamson'] RB, Gray Collegiate   Williamson is a workhorse running back who can shoulder the load any time the War Eagles ask him to do so. He's built that way at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and he didn't have to do anything fancy in order to post 1,662 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. He showed that at Midland Valley in the Region IV-4A opener, toting the rock 41 times for 242 yards on what was essentially the same play every time, prompting a few spirited speeches from the opposing coaching staff about toughness. That's what Williamson brings to the table, and his style of play will demoralize defenses even more as it continues to complement Gray Collegiate's dangerous passing attack.   [player_tooltip player_id='1467841' first='Trey' last='Wimbley'] WR, Daniel   Wimbley was one of the most productive receivers in the state last season, snagging 57 catches for 1,072 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Clemson commit is a problem in space, and he's very good at finding it. But he also doesn't need it, which makes things even more troublesome for opposing defenses. He can go over, through and around defenders whenever he's given the opportunity, and Daniel gives him plenty of them. There should be even more this season, which will be his last as a Lion after reclassifying from the Class of 2028.

Football is a game of blocking and tackling, as we all know, and even at its most basic level the team that wins is the team with more points on the scoreboard.