With the South Carolina high school football season approaching the first day of practice on Aug. 2 and Week Zero regular-season games on Aug. 23, here is a look at the Upstate’s top seniors in 2024. They are listed in alphabetical order.
Chamarryus Bomar
Westside | 5-foot-10, 180 pounds | Defensive back
Bomar, a transfer from Byrnes, is the state’s No. 9 overall player in this class, according to 247Sports. He is committed to Appalachian State and has four offers from Power Four schools.
Ramani Bruton
J.L. Mann | 6-0, 170 | Defensive back
Bruton, a transfer from Greenville, has made 11 interceptions in the past two years, and that’s with quarterbacks mostly preferring to stay away from his area of the field. Bruton gives Mann one of the state’s best shutdown cornerbacks.
Jaquavious Dodd
Eastside | 6-5, 255 | Defensive line
Dodd, a South Carolina commit, last season had 13 sacks and 24 tackles for loss. He is is the state’s No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 14 overall player in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. He’s considered a top-25 edge rusher in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
UPSTATE'S BEST DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Bryson Drummond
Mountain View Prep | 6-0, 185 | Quarterback
Drummond last season led a Greenville offense that was second only to state champion Westside in Region 1-AAAA. He passed for 2,251 yards with 23 touchdowns. That should translate well to new program Mountain View in Class AAA.
Jaidyn Ferguson
Byrnes | 6-2, 225 | Defensive line
Ferguson had seven sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hurries as he led a strong defense at Byrnes (10-2, 4-0 Region 2-AAAAA). His disruptive nature also led to three pass deflections and two forced fumbles.
Keyshun Henderson
J.L. Mann | 5-10, 175 | Wide receiver
Henderson should be the leading receiver for a Mann team that averaged 39.1 points per game last season and went to the Upper State Class AAAAA final. He had 12 touchdowns and 1,114 yards on 48 catches.
Marquise Henderson
Belton-Honea Path | 5-10, 170 | Running back
Henderson led BHP (13-1) to the Class AAAAA semifinals by rushing for 2,336 yards, 11.1 per carry, and 37 TDs. Heis the state’s No. 3 overall player for 2025, top-20 running back nationally, according to 247Sports Composite. He committed to Clemson.
UPSTATE'S BEST RUNNING BACKS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Tucker Hendrix
Christ Church | 6-1, 170 | Quarterback
Hendrix in his first as the starter led Christ Church to the 2023 Class A state championship. He passed for 2,803 yards with 43 touchdowns, completing 67% of his attempts. Hendrix has committed to preferred walk-on status at Clemson.
Peyton Jones
Spartanburg | 5-10, 205 | Linebacker
Jones had 65 solo tackles, 83 total, with 13.5 tackles for loss. He was a big reason Spartanburg had the best defense from Region 2-AAAAA, allowing only 13.7 points per game.
Zeke Marshall
Westside | 6-6, 200 | Defensive back
Marshall last season had nine interceptions, third-most in the state, and has a dozen picks in the past two years. He uses his size and his wingspan to close down target areas for offenses. Marshall also had 87 tackles.
Ladainnian Martin
J.L. Mann | 5-10, 175 | Running back
Martin is a key transfer as Mann (11-3) tries to get back to the Class AAAAA Upper State final and beyond. Last season at Greer, he ran for 1,580 yards (9.3 per carry) with 17 touchdowns. Martin is the state’s No. 5 overall player for 2025, according to 247Sports.
TJ Morris
Woodruff | 5-10, 160 | Quarterback
Morris hit his stride at the end of last season and could be in for a big senior year. In his last four games in 2023, including the Class AAA playoffs, Morris passed for 1,206 yards with 14 touchdowns. He finished with 2,571 yards and 27 TDs.
Nacyus Morrison
J.L. Mann | 5-7, 200 | Running back / linebacker
Morrison rushed for 1,287 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. In the first region game, he had 18 carries for 184 yards and three TDs. With the Patriots adding Martin, it will be interesting to see how they fit Morrison into the mix. He is also a standout on defense as linebacker.
KD Patterson
T.L. Hanna | 5-11, 185 | Running back
Patterson made a final statement last season by rushing for 215 yards with two touchdowns in the Class AAAAA state championship game. That capped off a breakout campaign with 1,582 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Jackson Repp
Christ Church | 5-8, 160 | Wide receiver
Repp last season led the state in touchdown catches with 27 and helped Christ Church win the Class A state championship. He finished with 63 catches for 1,510 yards. The Cavaliers move up to Class AAA this season.
Sharode Richardson
Westside | 5-11, 175 | Running back
Richardson could put up eye-popping numbers, especially if he inherits most of the work he shared last year with seniors. Richardson, with the second-most carries on the team, led the Rams with 1,139 rushing yards (11.1 average) and 16 of the team’s 51 rushing TDs.
Andrew Ruppe
Gaffney | 6-1, 220 | Linebacker
Ruppe had 11 interceptions last season as a middle linebacker and makes life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. Ruppe also forced two fumbles and made 24 solo tackles as Gaffney (9-4) allowed an average of only 17.0 points in Region 2-AAAAA games (3-1).
Shedrick Sarratt
Gaffney | 6-5, 300 | Offensive line
Sarratt is the state’s No. 1 offensive lineman and the No. 4 overall player for the Class of 2025, according to 247Sports. He has committed to South Carolina with a dozen more Power 5 offers. He is considered a top-30 tackle in the country.
UPSTATE'S BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Jair Simmons
Greenville | 6-1, 300 | Defensive line
Simmons was a leader last season as Greenville (10-4) had the best defense in Region 1-AAAA, allowing only 11.2 points in league games. Despite often being double-teamed, he had 35 solo stops and 3.5 for loss of yards.
Mikkel Skinner
Riverside | 6-3, 215 | Wide receiver
Skinner committed to Cincinnati and has since gotten an offer from South Carolina. He is the state’s No. 3 overall senior by 247Sports rankings. Last season, Skinner accounted for 1,229 yards from scrimmage, rushing and receiving combined, with 15 touchdowns.
UPSTATE'S BEST WIDE RECEIVERS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Cam Smith
Spartanburg | 5-9, 200 | Linebacker
Smith had 23.5 tackles for loss of yards last season with 10.5 sacks and 122 total tackles. He also caused three fumbles and recovered two. Smith has led Spartanburg in tackles for the past two seasons.
UPSTATE'S BEST LINEBACKERS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Cam Strong
T.L. Hanna | 6-1, 170 | Defensive back
Strong is the state’s No. 2 defensive back and the No. 14 overall player in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. Hanna went 10-2. Strong has committed to N.C. State and has seven other offers from Power Four programs.
Wyatt Ward
J.L. Mann | 6-2, 220 | Linebacker
Ward last season had 155 tackles, the most in the Upstate across all classifications, according to MaxPreps. He had 12.0 tackles for loss, four sacks, six quarterback hurries and three interceptions.
Armoni Weaver
Westside | 5-10, 170 | Defensive back
Weaver is the state’s No. 2defensive back and No. 8 overall player in the class of 2025, according to 247Sports. He also had 28 catches for 721 yards with six touchdowns. Weaver, like Bomar, isa transfer from Byrnes and a commit to Appalachian State.
UPSTATE'S BEST DEFENSIVE BACKS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Abijah Webb
Pendleton | 5-10, 200 | Wide receiver
Webb is the state’s top returning pass-catcher with 80 receptions, according to MaxPreps. Another 91 Pendleton passes went to then-senior Kory Jones. Webb finished with 1,146 yards and 15 touchdowns. He could be in for a stat explosion.
Cutter Woods
Westside | 6-2, 210 | Quarterback
Woods is a high-profile QB who committed to South Carolina after initially choosing Wake Forest. He led Class AAAA Westside last season to its first state championship, passing for 3,915 yards with 42 touchdowns.
UPSTATE'S BEST QUARTERBACKS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
Todd Shanesy is an award-winning senior writer who now covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at todd.shanesy@shj.com. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Top Upstate high school football seniors entering 2024 SCHSL season
