South Carolina's Most Talented: No. 5 Northwestern

Northwestern had a plethora of talent to work with off last year's team, which made it all the way to the state championship before falling to South Florence.   As the Trojans look ahead to 2023, they'll be tasked with replacing key players who went on to play major college football along with losses on the offensive line. But there's certainly young and developing talent that is a part of our ongoing <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/02/who-are-the-most-talented-teams-in-south-carolina/">Prep Redzone SC Most Talented Teams series</a>. If they can gel together, they'll be in position to make another run.    As spring practice is still a few months out, what is coach Page Wofford looking for? Solidifying roles.   “I want to work towards solidifying that offensive line group, seeing where we are with that. I'd love to see the defense kind of solidify their two deep and get guys competing at those positions.    Spring practice to me is a way to introduce guys to the way we do things, get them used to the weight room, implement a little bit of our system and really kick us off into the summer workouts,” Northwestern coach Page Wofford said.   Here's a look at the Trojans currently ranked from the classes of 2023 through 2025:   [player_tooltip player_id='89343' first='Jordan' last='Knox'], OL, 2023   Knox has excellent size and physicality at the left tackle position. Many times during the 2022 season, we saw him blowing people off the ball well beyond the line of scrimmage and creating holes in the run game. He can pull block and beat the first man he sees. Knox signed with Northwestern University out of Evanston, Illinois back during the early signing period in December.   “They're going to get a hard working guy who blocks and nobody's going to out work him, I'll tell you that,” Wofford said of Knox heading to Northwestern University.   [player_tooltip player_id='146372' first='Elijah' last='Caldwell'], WR, 2023   Caldwell made great use of his hands and overall athletic ability to go up and make plays at wide receiver in 2022. He can win one-on-one battles when it involves beating a defender for a contested throw in that he looks the ball into his hands knowing he may take a hit. He finished the year with 1365 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns.   If you need him to take a mid screen and go to the house with it, he can do that. He has great speed once he gets into the open field, like we saw in the state championship game against South Florence where he took the opening second half kickoff back for a touchdown. His play got the attention of South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer as he signed with the Gamecocks during the early signing period in December.   [player_tooltip player_id='202763' first='Ben' last='Acus'], OL, 2023   Acus's snaps at center were critical for the young quarterback in the shotgun during the 2022 season. His snaps were clean and the quarterback was able to drop back and make his reads and get into the play.    He could also get down field and create blocks in the screen game and could detonate a nose tackle before he could get anywhere near the quarterback. Acus received an offer from Limestone University earlier this month.   [player_tooltip player_id='202764' first='Marcus' last='Macon'], OL, 2023   Macon had an outstanding senior campaign at the tackle position. He moved well in run blocking situations and had good leg drive to push opposing defensive linemen out of the way. He helped in creating clean pass lanes for the quarterback to throw to, using his hands to fight off defensive linemen. Macon signed with South Carolina State University during the early signing period in December.   [player_tooltip player_id='336118' first='Damien' last='Jackson'], LB, 2023   Jackson is an instinctive linebacker, who recognizes plays quickly and makes sure tackles. That was evident all throughout the 2022 season as he chased a scrambling quarterback, making a solid angle against South Pointe or he made a play in the hole against a running back in the state championship game against South Florence. Jackson doesn't currently hold any offers and is unsigned.    [player_tooltip player_id='202757' first='William' last='Brooks'], WR, 2023   Brooks was a great second target in Northwestern's offense in 2022 when he got the ball, whether it was a quick slant or a deep ball down field. He finished his senior year with 21 catches for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns.   [player_tooltip player_id='202765' first='Curtis' last='Wilmore'], DB, 2023   The pursuit angles that Wilmore took while we watched his film was the first thing that stood out to us when watching his film. He lined up primarily at the linebacker spot, but he showed an ability to cover well beyond the line of scrimmage and he even picked the ball off. He finished his senior year with eight tackles, and 2 ½ of them were for a loss.   [player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard'], RB, 2024   Richard (pictured above) is one of the top running backs in the state and one of the top players in our 2024 rankings, and with good reason. His elusiveness and ability to make plays in space is what makes him so dangerous. If he gets a head of steam, it's likely a house call. He can burn you with his world class speed and he can catch the ball out of the backfield, which adds another element to what is an impressive resume.    He holds the school record for rushing yards in a season, which was previously held by Jeff Burris in 1989. Richard already holds multiple offers heading into his senior year and ran for 2093 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2022.   “He's here every day, he works hard. You never have to say anything about him. He's got zero baggage. He's a zero baggage player. We don't have to worry about him in the classroom, in the weight room, about his effort on the field. He's just a player every coach would want to coach. Not just athletic wise but as a person. He's a really good kid.”     [player_tooltip player_id='589050' first='Greer' last='Hopkins'], WR, 2024   Hopkins was a reliable guy in the slot in 2022 for the Trojans and will be more of the focal point in 2023 with the graduation of Caldwell. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Hopkins made the most of his opportunities. He was the go-to guy on deep balls, like on a 3rd and long against Greenville in the playoffs where he took the top off the defense and beat the defenders for the score.    He is deceptively quicker than people realize. The offensive staff lined him up at quarterback, mainly to run the zone read and he can make plays once he gets out into the open field. Hopkins finished the year second on the team in catches with 43 receptions for 634 yards and 7 touchdowns.   “He played a little wildcat for us, quarterback, we'll get him in there, let him run a little bit. But he can throw it to, he'll hurt you with his arm. He punted. He kicked off, kicked extra points. Just having somebody like that, an all-purpose, all around player, he's the epitome of that athlete that people kind of throw around sometimes. He kind of really fits that triple threat, do it all type guy.”   [player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'], QB, 2025   The bright lights were not too bright for Polk in 2022 as the sophomore helped lead his team to a berth in the state championship game. His ability to scan the field and step up and make throws is impressive. He has a nice spiral on his throws to where his receivers are able to catch it right in stride and get up field for more yardage.    It's a situation where his guy gets it or nobody gets it. He didn't put his team in adverse situations and kept the offense on schedule. He finished the year with 3301 yards passing and 37 touchdowns.    [player_tooltip player_id='605531' first='Will' last='Massey'], LB, 2025   Massey was all around the football at his linebacker spot in 2022. Whether it was taking an angle to wrap up the ball carrier before they could get going on a run play, or chasing the quarterback from behind, he made an impact. He's a young linebacker who we expect big things out of in 2023 as he finished 2022 leading the team in tackles with 67.5 total tackles and 10 ½ for a loss.

Northwestern had a plethora of talent to work with off last year's team, which made it all the way to the state championship before falling to South Florence.