Wow! State of SC Has 41 In-State Players Committed To Major College Football, A Record For This Date In The Process
Landsharks have highly regarded 20027 QB Aiden Manavian (6-0,185) waiting to toss his gifted receivers a bunch of deep impact balls during the 2026 season.
Wow! State of SC Has 41 In-State Players Committed To Major College Football, A Record For This Date In The Process
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Moncks Corner—Coming in the SCACA Coaches Clinic on July 24, being held at the Greenville Convention Center, the state of South Carolina has 41 in-state 2027 prep football players committed to one of the 138 major college teams that define Division I FBS programs.
This is a new record for this point in the recruiting process in South Carolina and clearly indicates the overall quality of our football talent, and the quality of our high school football coaches who develop them into major college football prospects.
As always, we pause to thank Mark Grainger and the fine folks at Modern Turf in Irmo and Rembert for their sponsorship of this very popular recruiting page.
Google Analytics recently confirmed to the HSSR that in the past 12 months our companion web site hssr.com received 1 million home page views, with 41,000 unique visitors checking out our free web site each and every month! We upload all content in our publication to hssr.com for free viewing. Yes, we feel like our coverage of high school football in the Palmetto State is read by college football coaches all over the nation.
The recent NFL draft selected five players who grew up in South Carolina, playing prep football, and this is the consistent average in most years going back 30 years. We take exception to one tracking site claiming Clemson and Hartsville native Damonte Capehart (6-5, 315) as a native of Bradenton, Florida, where Capehart attended the IMG Academy for just one year. Capehart played for the Red Foxes through his junior year, and he is a native of the Palmetto State. Capehart was drafted (155) by the Buccaneers in the April 2026 draft.
The other four players are former Georgia and Oceanside Collegiate OL Monroe Freeling who went (19) to the Packers, former South Carolina and Lakewood DB Brandon Ciese who went (52) to the Packers. The number four player was former Clemson and Dutch Fork WR Antonio Williams (71) to the Commanders, with the 5th player being former Clemson and Myrtle Beach athlete Adam Randall who was drafted (174) by the Ravens as an RB, but he played WR in high school and for a large part of his career of Clemson.
So, when the HSSR strongly suggests to the South Carolina and Clemson football programs that they work extra hard to project who these five players are in the current 2027 class that are almost certain to be drafted in four or five years, we are being honest and sincere, This has been a consistent pattern for years. It also explains why we are always upset at national recruiting services like 247 Sports who rarely place more than two or three current SC based players on their top 247 list which is their mirror to future NFL drafts.
Well, for the first time in recent memory would you believe that 247 Sports has finally rated exactly five in-state 2027 football players from South Carolina in their current 247 national list. (Our prayers have been answered, and we encourage them to keep up the good work). 247 Sports currently has Irmo DE Jaiden Bryant (6-3, 245) rated number 20 overall and he is pledged to Miami. Byrnes RB David Segarra (5-10,205) is rated number 133 nationally and he is committed to LSU. South Pointe DL Seth Tillman is ranked at number 139, and he is committed to Clemson. The 5th “Top 247” prospect is Irmo OL Nate Carson (6-4, 290) who is committed to SC.
By comparison, the HSSR rates Oceanside Collegiate WR/DB Jaiden Kelly-Murray (5-10,175, 4.4) as the state’s number one over-all prospect in the 2027 class in SC. Kelly-Murray has committed to Colorado.
During his freshman season at Summerville the HSSR saw Kelly-Murray play in four different games as a starting FS in an AAAAA program. He had around 8 picks that first season and we stood beside three different major college coaches that season on the sideline and all three recruiters told us he was a five- star player with a bright future.
Kelly-Murray was switched more to a WR his sophomore and junior year at Summerville where he caught 145 passes for 2,159 yards and 27 TD’s in two seasons he helped lead the Green Wave to the state finals against Dutch Fork.
Kelly-Murray decided to transfer to Oceanside Collegiate for his senior year mainly because the Landsharks have highly regarded 20027 QB Aiden Manavian (6-0,185) waiting to toss this gifted receiver a bunch of home run balls during the 2026 season. We expect Kelly-Murray to have between 1,800 and 2,000 reception yards this season.
We rate Bryant as number two on our 2027 list, and if his commitment to Miami holds the Hurricanes are getting a future NFL player no doubt. We have David “Tre” Segarra of Byrnes rated as the HSSR number three over-all player coming into the 2026 season. LSU, his current commitment, might just be in a battle to hold his commitment as many colleges, namely SC, will try to flip him before the December signing date.
Segarra has excellent vision, and his ability to reach full speed quickly allows him to make cuts away from tacklers with ease. He rushed for 1,460 yards on 174 carries and 17 TD’s as a junior. He averaged 8.4 yards a carry. If he continues to develop, he just might be among those five players a year average in future drafts?
The HSSR ranks Irmo High and Alabama RB commitment Tai Phillips (5-11, 180) as the number four over-all player in the 2027 class in SC going into the season. Phillips transferred to Irmo from Cape Fear, NC after his junior season. In two seasons he rushed for 1,799 yards on 202 carries. He only played seven games as a junior but his 302 rushing yards in a game against rival Terry Sanford helped get his name to the desks of many college recruiters.
Our number five 2027 player going into the season is Irmo DL/OL Nate Carson (6-5,285) who is committed to South Carolina. Carson is a road grader with good arm extensions, flexible hips, and he uses his quick feet to get a jump on incoming defensive lineman.
So, we agree with three of the five 247 Picks among our top five 2027 prospects starting the season.
Our next five rising 2027 prospects are Manavian at number six and we feel like he is the top overall QB in the state right now. Major colleges not evaluating him because he is barely six-foot tall are making the same mistakes as colleges made with former Macedonia QB Joe Hamilton when he was out of high school.
In two seasons Manavian has completed 477-of-687 passes for 7,497 yards and 83 TD’s leading the Sharks to back-to-back state championships. He should go over 10,000 passing yards by the end of his senior season. How tall was Drew Brees during his outstanding NFL career? (google it for sticker shock).
Okay, Bill Belichick of North Carolina has come into South Carolina the past two seasons and plucked four receivers to the Tar Heel program for good reason. Did you know that the all-time leading receiver for the New England Patriots is former Blackville-Hilda and Marshall stand-out Troy Brown (5-10,195) who caught 557 passes for 6,366 yards and 31 TD’s in 15 seasons in the NFL?
Belichick admired the work ethic and talent of Brown, and he is very partial to similar type receivers at the prep level in South Carolina. From this years 2027 class the Tar Heels have a commitment from Oceanside Collegiate WR Anthony Williams (6-1, 170) who we rank as the number seven overall prospect in the state right now. Also, North Carolina has a commitment from Bluffton WR Amare Patterson (6-1, 190) who the HSSR ranks as the number 12 overall prospect entering the 2026 season.
As a junior, Williams caught 61 passes for 1,066 yards and 12 TD’s. During the same season Patterson caught 51 passes for 912 yards and 10 TD’s. Last year the Tar Heels signed WR’s Carnell Warren of Bluffton and Zay Robertson of Dillon. Who’s next?
Rounding out the HSSR’s top 10 are Woodruff RB Aiden Gibson (6-1,212) headed to Auburn, Dutch Fork DL Jaden Werth is headed to Clemson, and Hammond LB Jackson Ross (6-4, 215) is headed to South Carolina.
Please see entire HSSR 2027 Top 100 list printed in a separate posting.
