PalmettoPreps.com's Will Helms recently conducted a high school football Q&A on the Rivals.com network. Below is a look at several questions and answers.
D.Joyner at Dorchester....What are some things he needs to work on to be successful at South Carolina? Can you compare him to any other high school qb that you have seen in the past?
Tough question. If you want a current college comparison, Joyner is a less developed Lamar Jackson. They're around the same size and both are legitimate running backs at the QB position (DJ is one of the top 2-3 athletes in the state, regardless of position). Both are smart football players and usually make good decisions.
DJ is about where you'd expect a four-star QB prospect to be at this point in his high school career. Not Andrew Luck level, but he can recognize and diagnose coverages. Like Jackson, he usually throws to the open man.
On the negative side, DJ, like Jackson, lacks elite velocity (So does Deshaun Watson) and can improve on accuracy (And has improved on accuracy during his time in high school — His completion rate is around 71% this season). Most of the bad throws are a result of a lack of elite arm talent rather than a misread.
When he misses, he typically misses long on deep balls and short on hitches/outs, which is what you want on misses. As a result, he doesn't throw a lot of interceptions.
Basically, if he continues to develop, he can be very, very good. But he's raw, like most dual-threat QBs coming into college. Joyner looks very similar to Jackson did as a prospect. Doesn't mean he'll turn out the same way, but it's certainly a possibility.
What are your thoughts on the Mr. Football / Shrine Bowl / S.C. top prospects disparity this year? Two finalists for S.C. Mr. Football didn't even make the Shrine Bowl rosters (Amir Abrams, Colton Bailey), while the state's #2 and #3 players Josh Belk and Derion Kendrick were not in the running for Mr. Football. Also, the #7 player Braden Galloway, the #9 player Kyle Wright, and the #10 player Khalid Jones, all don't make the Shrine Bowl either.
Is the Shrine Bowl more "politics?" Do they look at other things besides on-field play, like community service or school participation? I know Bill Gunter commented on this earlier this week and said it has a lot to do with who coaches the team, and how well a player fits their system. And if that's the case, it's B.S. No other sport that I know of discounts a player from making the all-star team based on the scheme that the coach / manager plays. Could you imagine if the American League manager for the All-Star game didn't select a guy like Aaron Judge because he was a "small-ball" manager that believed in speed and defense over power hitting? Players that are deserving should be there on that roster, regardless of whatever "scheme" the coach favors. IT'S AN ALL-STAR GAME FOR PETE'S SAKE. Nobody cares who wins; it's a reward for these kids who work their tails off all season.
Short answer: Yes, politics. Also camps factor in more now. I can give you a long answer on several of these, but I'll try to keep it brief.
Abrams should have been a Shrine Bowler. Hands down. On PalmettoPreps.com Chris and I are compiling a list of the top 100 players. Abrams is #4, behind Tindall (3), Kendrick (2) and Joyner (1).
Bailey didn't make the Shrine Bowl because he's not an elite recruit. He's 5'9", 164 lbs, so people overlook him (Just ignore the fact that he's thrown for 10,000 yards in 2.5 years, nothing to see there) Galloway, Wright and Jones are on the opposite side of it. Good recruits (Project well) but not high school standouts. I have no problem with them not making it, same with Josh Belk (Big time upside, but didn't even dominate 1A)
Kendrick probably should have been considered for Mr. Football, but I have no problem with any of the guys on the list, even if three aren't blue-chip recruits. Also don't mind Bailey not being in the Shrine Bowl because the other three are so good. Hartman just moved down from NC which is why he wasn't a legitimate candidate for Mr. Football (Maybe politics, but I don't mind leaving a guy off that just played 1 year in the state). I'd rank Bailey as the state's No. 4 QB
1.Got to give you credit for saying at the beginning of the year if there was one team that could come out of nowhere and win it all, it was TL Hanna. Now that they are ranked #2 in the state, tell us how you new this.
2.Who you got playing for upper state and lower state?
3.Who wins it all??????
1. Hanna has underperformed for years and used SC's retirement loophole to lure one of the top 3 head coaches in the U.S.
2/3. For 5A- Hanna/Byrnes US, Fort D, Dutch Fork/Fort D Lower State- Fort D over Hanna
4A- South Pointe-North Augusta (US), Hartsville-NMB (LS)- South Pointe over NMB
I can do 1-3A too, but my favorites there are Chapman/GIlbert (3A), Bardwell/Abbeville (2A), Lamar/Hemingway (1A)
Will, what are your thoughts on the DB talent in SC HSFB? Seems like only a handful of guys have been identified in the Rivals state rankings, and of those, think only one or two primarily play defense for their high schools. Thanks.
You're right in that there aren't a ton of highly-rated guys but there are several talented players that aren't great prospects. Example A would be North Augusta's Dejuan Bell. He's only 5'9", 160, and other runs in the mid-4.5s. He's a heck of an athlete though and a great corner, just not a huge D1 prospect.
Overall, the DB position is a bit thinner than some of the others.
D.Joyner at Dorchester....What are some things he needs to work on to be successful at South Carolina? Can you compare him to any other high school qb that you have seen in the past?
Tough question. If you want a current college comparison, Joyner is a less developed Lamar Jackson. They're around the same size and both are legitimate running backs at the QB position (DJ is one of the top 2-3 athletes in the state, regardless of position). Both are smart football players and usually make good decisions.
DJ is about where you'd expect a four-star QB prospect to be at this point in his high school career. Not Andrew Luck level, but he can recognize and diagnose coverages. Like Jackson, he usually throws to the open man.
On the negative side, DJ, like Jackson, lacks elite velocity (So does Deshaun Watson) and can improve on accuracy (And has improved on accuracy during his time in high school — His completion rate is around 71% this season). Most of the bad throws are a result of a lack of elite arm talent rather than a misread.
When he misses, he typically misses long on deep balls and short on hitches/outs, which is what you want on misses. As a result, he doesn't throw a lot of interceptions.
Basically, if he continues to develop, he can be very, very good. But he's raw, like most dual-threat QBs coming into college. Joyner looks very similar to Jackson did as a prospect. Doesn't mean he'll turn out the same way, but it's certainly a possibility.
What are your thoughts on the Mr. Football / Shrine Bowl / S.C. top prospects disparity this year? Two finalists for S.C. Mr. Football didn't even make the Shrine Bowl rosters (Amir Abrams, Colton Bailey), while the state's #2 and #3 players Josh Belk and Derion Kendrick were not in the running for Mr. Football. Also, the #7 player Braden Galloway, the #9 player Kyle Wright, and the #10 player Khalid Jones, all don't make the Shrine Bowl either.
Is the Shrine Bowl more "politics?" Do they look at other things besides on-field play, like community service or school participation? I know Bill Gunter commented on this earlier this week and said it has a lot to do with who coaches the team, and how well a player fits their system. And if that's the case, it's B.S. No other sport that I know of discounts a player from making the all-star team based on the scheme that the coach / manager plays. Could you imagine if the American League manager for the All-Star game didn't select a guy like Aaron Judge because he was a "small-ball" manager that believed in speed and defense over power hitting? Players that are deserving should be there on that roster, regardless of whatever "scheme" the coach favors. IT'S AN ALL-STAR GAME FOR PETE'S SAKE. Nobody cares who wins; it's a reward for these kids who work their tails off all season.
Short answer: Yes, politics. Also camps factor in more now. I can give you a long answer on several of these, but I'll try to keep it brief.
Abrams should have been a Shrine Bowler. Hands down. On PalmettoPreps.com Chris and I are compiling a list of the top 100 players. Abrams is #4, behind Tindall (3), Kendrick (2) and Joyner (1).
Bailey didn't make the Shrine Bowl because he's not an elite recruit. He's 5'9", 164 lbs, so people overlook him (Just ignore the fact that he's thrown for 10,000 yards in 2.5 years, nothing to see there) Galloway, Wright and Jones are on the opposite side of it. Good recruits (Project well) but not high school standouts. I have no problem with them not making it, same with Josh Belk (Big time upside, but didn't even dominate 1A)
Kendrick probably should have been considered for Mr. Football, but I have no problem with any of the guys on the list, even if three aren't blue-chip recruits. Also don't mind Bailey not being in the Shrine Bowl because the other three are so good. Hartman just moved down from NC which is why he wasn't a legitimate candidate for Mr. Football (Maybe politics, but I don't mind leaving a guy off that just played 1 year in the state). I'd rank Bailey as the state's No. 4 QB
1.Got to give you credit for saying at the beginning of the year if there was one team that could come out of nowhere and win it all, it was TL Hanna. Now that they are ranked #2 in the state, tell us how you new this.
2.Who you got playing for upper state and lower state?
3.Who wins it all??????
1. Hanna has underperformed for years and used SC's retirement loophole to lure one of the top 3 head coaches in the U.S.
2/3. For 5A- Hanna/Byrnes US, Fort D, Dutch Fork/Fort D Lower State- Fort D over Hanna
4A- South Pointe-North Augusta (US), Hartsville-NMB (LS)- South Pointe over NMB
I can do 1-3A too, but my favorites there are Chapman/GIlbert (3A), Bardwell/Abbeville (2A), Lamar/Hemingway (1A)
Will, what are your thoughts on the DB talent in SC HSFB? Seems like only a handful of guys have been identified in the Rivals state rankings, and of those, think only one or two primarily play defense for their high schools. Thanks.
You're right in that there aren't a ton of highly-rated guys but there are several talented players that aren't great prospects. Example A would be North Augusta's Dejuan Bell. He's only 5'9", 160, and other runs in the mid-4.5s. He's a heck of an athlete though and a great corner, just not a huge D1 prospect.
Overall, the DB position is a bit thinner than some of the others.