By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Moncks Corner — Things have been rather quiet on the recruiting front in South Carolina in terms of additional major college football verbal commitments since our Modern Turf Recruiting Page published at the end of the August, but the HSSR is able to report that South Pointe quarterback Malachi Marshall (6-2, 190) has committed to Georgia State, bringing the number of in-state major college commitments to 25 as we enter the month of October.
On September 1 two high profile juniors in South Carolina received offers and they are both in the 4-star and five-star range. One is Gaffney left tackle Sheldrick Sarratt (6-4,320) along with number rated 2025 player Amaria Adams (6-3,291) , a defensive end from South Florence.
“Sheldrick has several teams recruiting him right now,” said Gaffney head coach Dan Jones. “He’s a force for us at left tackle and he moves really well for such a big body.” Coach Jones said that he is aware of offers from South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Virginia, and Appalachian State at this point. Clemson is also keeping in touch as well.
Adams, who is also a star basketball player, has at least 20 offers to date. Some recruiting services indicate Adams is favoring South Carolina and the Gamecocks were among the first college to start recruiting him a couple years ago. Adams has not trimmed his list down yet.
Adams has firm offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, etc.
Chester High has a 2025 quarterback and 2026 defensive lineman getting a lot of attention right now.
Chester quarterback Trooper Floyd (6-2,190) has shoulder surgery after last season but he has thrown for over 800 passing yards and rushed for over 300 yards seven games into the 2023 season.
Floyd has been working out with quarterback instructor GA Mangus since this past April. Floyd can make all the throws and he has a quick release with good feet. He has huge hands that give him a good grip on the ball.
“Trooper is like a coach on the field and he has been around football all of his life,” said Chester head coach Victor Floyd who is also the father. “GA puts him in a group five ranking right now and he is stronger every day. The surgery set Trooper back some but he is getting stronger every day.”
Schools like East Carolina, Georgia State, and Old Dominion are showing serious interest in Floyd.
Terry Radford (6-1, 265) is a talented sophomore nose guard at Chester. “We are in a three man front in our defense and even with him being double and tripled team on every play Terry still has nine sacks on the season,” said his head coach Victor Floyd. “No doubt in my mind that he is a top 10 sophomore in the state of South Carolina. He will be a national recruit if he can grow an inch or two in the next year.
“This kid is relentless and he has great explosion to the ball,” said Coach Floyd. “He benches just over 275 pounds.” Radford has had contact through a camp at Auburn and numerous other major colleges are showing interest. Radford has 60 tackles to date to go along with his 9 sacks.
Ian Grissom, (6-1,180) is junior quarterback at Lewisville who is currently leading the state in passing yardage. To date he has completed 84-of-119 passes for 1,793 yards and 23 touchdowns. The HSSR scouted him at a recent game and we can verify that he has a live, fluid, strong arm.
“This is young man is so coachable and he has been in our program (transferred from Northwestern) for two seasons and he is a big reason for our turnaround,” said head coach Leon Boulware. “He can make all the throws and his vision down field is unreal. He has great feet and a quick release also.”
Dion Brown (5-11,151) is a talented 2024 receiver at Lewisville who caught 48 passes for 1,050 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior at Clover. Brown has a baseball offer to Clemson but his life long dream has been to play both football and baseball in college and that is a hard thing to manage for sure.
He is the son of former USC star and 12-yard NFL veteran Sheldon Brown.
“I tell my players to never give up on their dreams,” said Lewisville head coach Leon Boulware. “I tell them to keep working hard and fighting to the very end because good things can happen to those who dream and work hard. Dion is a very talented athlete and the blood line is certainly in his DNA.”
Brown has caught 25 passes for 525 yards and six touchdowns so far this season playing for the number one Class A ranked Lions.
To date South Carolina has landed pledges from five instate 2024 players led by the state’s top prospect Josiah “Big cat” Thompson of Dillon. Appalachian State is tied with the Gamecocks with five in-state pledges coming into October. Georgia Tech and East Carolina are next with three in-state commitments each.
All Rights Reserved | The High School Sports Report 1986-2021