Flying Under The Radar In The Pee Dee
From the coast over to the Florence area, we’re starting to get eyes on even more players who appear ready to make waves when the 2021 football season begins. The Pee Dee already includes a bunch of big names. But…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFrom the coast over to the Florence area, we’re starting to get eyes on even more players who appear ready to make waves when the 2021 football season begins.
The Pee Dee already includes a bunch of big names. But some guys in supporting roles are about to move into bigger spots. Here are a few we’re keeping tabs on in the months ahead.
CAM WARD, MYRTLE BEACH, RB/LB, ’23
Ward is a couple of inches away from being a bigger (no pun intended) name in the recruiting circles. And while he’s just 5-foot-7, his tenacity on both sides of the ball has him looking more and more like the type of influential player Mickey Wilson has utilized to near perfection in the past. On defense, Ward had 35 total stops, nine tackles for loss and three sacks last year. He also rushed for 217 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s already got the keys to the Seahawks’ Rhino package (what they call their wildcat sets) so he’ll get touches galore next year.
JACK GRIDER, DILLON, QB, ‘22
Grider was was arguably the most overlooked quarterback in the Pee Dee last season, if for no other reason that he was surrounded by so much talent. However, the 6-foot rising senior was the offensive glue to a team that got back to region championship winning ways (after finishing second in 2019). He wasn’t flashy, necessarily, but in seven games, he completed 72 percent of his passes for better than 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns to go along with another 301 yards and four scores on the ground.
MANNING HITT, CAROLINA FOREST, OL, ‘23
“He’s gonna be really good.” We’ve heard it from various members of the Panthers’ coaching staff for the better part of the last calendar year when asking about Hitt. It’s really not a conundrum why, either. The crux of Carolina Forest’s success the last two years has been on the offensive line, and Hitt was good enough as a sophomore to shove his way into a starting lineup that otherwise featured senior linemen. We’ll see if he sticks at right guard moving forward. Either way, he’s made an impression.
DONNELL WILLIAMSON, WILSON, WR, ‘23
The nephew of former University of South Carolina and NFL receiver Troy Williamson, the Wilson sophomore is already showing some flashes of a bright future, too. So far, he’s not blowing the doors off any one aspect of the position, but he’s able to do so many different things well that he’s already standing out in games and on film. It make him a dangerous addition to the Tigers’ offense in the years ahead. We believe he’s only just getting started.