The five finalists for South Carolina's "Mr. Football" award were announced on Wednesday.
The winner will be recognized at halftime of the North/South game (known as the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl) on December 9 in Myrtle Beach.
Amir Abrams, RB, Newberry
What this running back does for his high school team is not flashy. It's funny that he'll be one of the players honored at the North/South game, because that's exactly Abrams' style on the field.
While not a guy with amazing size or what would be considered breakaway speed in college, Abrams runs with very good vision, balance, and power. He finds gaps and hits them and runs with such a low center of gravity that he's difficult for defenders to find coming out of the mix in the line and then hard to bring down once they do.
At Newberry, Abrams has been a yard-maker and a touchdown machine.
Colton Bailey, QB Chapman
A QB who head coach Mark Hodge calls the best he's ever coached or played against. That's no small compliment, as Hodge has seen plenty of talent on the opposing sidelines and coached former NFL DB DJ Moore (Vanderbilt) and WR Deebo Samuel (South Carolina). Bailey holds every Chapman school record in the passing category and could be on pace to throw for 10,000 yards in his career. He led Chapman to a state title over powerhouse Dillon last season. He may not be the biggest, but his production in the passing game (as well as running the ball) is not rivaled by many.
During a seven-on-seven passing tournament at USC this summer, the clock ticked away as Chapman had one play to win or lose the contest. Bailey threw a perfect post pattern for the winning touchdown.
Dakereon Joyner, QB, Fort Dorchester
Joyner is a unique talent at quarterback who's made tremendous strides during his career to become a more complete passer. Aside from his physical gifts in terms of athleticism and ability to throw it, he does an excellent job running Fort Dorchester's offense and showing leadership.
Joyner is a true dual threat in that he's a slippery and elusive runner in the open field with some speed, but he's always looking to execute the offense and pass first. He has the arm to hit receivers in stride down the field and some zip behind the ball in the intermediate game. He also helps his team win games - lots of them.
Connor Shugart, LB, Spartanburg
The title of the senior defender's Hudl highlight tape is"Relentless", and when you watch Shugart play that's an apt description. His production speaks for itself; he already has over 100 tackles this season and fills the stat sheet with sacks,interceptions, forced fumbles, and blocked kicks.
Shugart's a heady player who shows good football IQ and puts himself in a position to be around the ball and to make plays, whether he's dropping back into zone coverage, rushing the passer, or stopping the run in the box and on the perimeter.
Channing Tindall, LB, Spring Valley
As a sophomore, Tindall was considered a "tweener" for the college level and had offers from Coastal Carolina and Mercer. Will Muschamp and South Carolina then stepped up, and the party started with programs around the country jumping in with scholarships.
Watching Tindall play, it's easy to see why. He has great size and projectability to to the college level with his frame and above-average athleticism. Yet he doesn't just look good physically; he produces on the high school gridiron. Tindall can rush the passer and is a sideline-to-sideline player with speed and physicality. We watched him in a game this season and he seemed to be either making the tackle or right around the ball if it was anywhere in his relative vicinity.
The winner will be recognized at halftime of the North/South game (known as the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl) on December 9 in Myrtle Beach.
Amir Abrams, RB, Newberry
What this running back does for his high school team is not flashy. It's funny that he'll be one of the players honored at the North/South game, because that's exactly Abrams' style on the field.
While not a guy with amazing size or what would be considered breakaway speed in college, Abrams runs with very good vision, balance, and power. He finds gaps and hits them and runs with such a low center of gravity that he's difficult for defenders to find coming out of the mix in the line and then hard to bring down once they do.
At Newberry, Abrams has been a yard-maker and a touchdown machine.
Colton Bailey, QB Chapman
A QB who head coach Mark Hodge calls the best he's ever coached or played against. That's no small compliment, as Hodge has seen plenty of talent on the opposing sidelines and coached former NFL DB DJ Moore (Vanderbilt) and WR Deebo Samuel (South Carolina). Bailey holds every Chapman school record in the passing category and could be on pace to throw for 10,000 yards in his career. He led Chapman to a state title over powerhouse Dillon last season. He may not be the biggest, but his production in the passing game (as well as running the ball) is not rivaled by many.
During a seven-on-seven passing tournament at USC this summer, the clock ticked away as Chapman had one play to win or lose the contest. Bailey threw a perfect post pattern for the winning touchdown.
Dakereon Joyner, QB, Fort Dorchester
Joyner is a unique talent at quarterback who's made tremendous strides during his career to become a more complete passer. Aside from his physical gifts in terms of athleticism and ability to throw it, he does an excellent job running Fort Dorchester's offense and showing leadership.
Joyner is a true dual threat in that he's a slippery and elusive runner in the open field with some speed, but he's always looking to execute the offense and pass first. He has the arm to hit receivers in stride down the field and some zip behind the ball in the intermediate game. He also helps his team win games - lots of them.
Connor Shugart, LB, Spartanburg
The title of the senior defender's Hudl highlight tape is"Relentless", and when you watch Shugart play that's an apt description. His production speaks for itself; he already has over 100 tackles this season and fills the stat sheet with sacks,interceptions, forced fumbles, and blocked kicks.
Shugart's a heady player who shows good football IQ and puts himself in a position to be around the ball and to make plays, whether he's dropping back into zone coverage, rushing the passer, or stopping the run in the box and on the perimeter.
Channing Tindall, LB, Spring Valley
As a sophomore, Tindall was considered a "tweener" for the college level and had offers from Coastal Carolina and Mercer. Will Muschamp and South Carolina then stepped up, and the party started with programs around the country jumping in with scholarships.
Watching Tindall play, it's easy to see why. He has great size and projectability to to the college level with his frame and above-average athleticism. Yet he doesn't just look good physically; he produces on the high school gridiron. Tindall can rush the passer and is a sideline-to-sideline player with speed and physicality. We watched him in a game this season and he seemed to be either making the tackle or right around the ball if it was anywhere in his relative vicinity.
