Thirty Top Players For 2012

30 For '12...The evaluation process is well underway, with more than 300
players on the "Watch List" right now. Basically, what that means is, we - and by that I mean me, myself, and I - will go through that list of players' films and evaluate based on the criteria that I use for each position. If you ever wonder what that criteria is, check out one of my film eval articles or either just email me and I'll tell you.

Back to the 30 for '12. As of right now, out of the films I've been through for 2012 (a little over 100 so far), these are the top thirty of that group - in alphabetical order. If you recognize that a name is missing that you feel should be there, it may be that I simply have not gotten to his film yet. So, this list WILL change between now and the end of Spring. I will try to  update it weekly as I go through film and new guys move onto the list, pushing others off of the list. When all is said and done, we will have the Top 100 ranked. 

Despite inevitable impending changes to the list, there are some fantastic players listed here. The one thing that I've realized with this first set of film breakdowns is that the 2012 Class is going to be better than I initially anticipated. As I always say, South Carolina's top players are as good as any other state's top players in the country. We may not send 200 to DI-A schools, but we have well over 100 playing on Saturdays from every class and for a state the size of ours, that is impressive. And on any year, I'd put our Top Ten players up against any Top Ten in the country. 

I will begin to do player breakdowns and release individual evaluations and position evaluations this week on SCVarsity.com. Until then, I've made a few random notes on this list.

Random Notes On This List

• Shaq Roland (Ath) of Lexington and Quinshad Davis (WR) of Gaffney are the two biggest sure hits on this list. Either of those two, as of right now, could be the state's top player heading into the 2011 football season. 
• The Running Back list is going to be strong. With Torray Amlett(Ridgeland), Dondre Brown (Hampton), Kendric Salley (Williston-Elko), Eric Boyls (Bluffton), D.J. Goodman (Greenwood), Blake Hayes (Wade Hampton), Shakeem Wharton (Byrnes), Raymond Smith (Dorman), Brandon Quattlebaum (Dutch Fork), Devon Howell (Airport), and fullback Virgil Smalls (Goose Creek), this list is outstanding. And we're not even done with evaluations yet!
• Offensive lineman group lacks depth right now but has some good one's at the top. Patrick Destefano of Dorman leads a top heavy list of offensive trenchmen.
• Bryson Washington (ath) from Ninety-Six has been the best surprise for me. He is a 6-4, 190lbs athlete playing both sides of the ball and is a fierce competitor. He's a player with a definite shot at the Top Ten spot.

Again, I will begin releasing individual evaluations, film evaluations, and position breakdowns THIS WEEK on SCVarsity.com Those will be premium content items for SCVarsity.com Members Only. I recommend giving us a try with the SEVEN DAY FREE TRIAL. If you don't like what you're seeing, cancel and no charge. If you do like it, stay on the team and get the best high school sports and recruiting information available in the state for about 33 cents a day. If you try the Ultimate Ticket annual subscription, you'll be paying about 27 cents a day.

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Class of 2012 Top Players
Player	Pos	School
Ah Ching, Atuma	LB	Greer
Aiken, Martin	DT	Bamberg-Erhardt
Brown, Chris	WR	Hanahan
Brown, Dondre	RB	Wade Hampton (H)
Brown, Jovontae	DT	Calhoun County
Burrell, T.J.	LB	Goose Creek
Davis, Quinshad	WR	Gaffney
Destafano, Patric	OL-G	Dorman
Dukes, Savon	LB	Gaffney
Geohaghan, Ronald	DB-S	Allendale-Fairfax
Goodman, D.J.	RB	Greenwood
Goodman, Justin	OL	Wilson
Hall, Damar	WR	Blythewood
Hayes, Blake	RB	Wade Hampton
Henry, Phillip	CB	Manning
Hicklin, Tay	Ath	South Pointe
Irick, Mark	WR	Calhoun County
Jones, Oliver	OL-T	Ninety-Six
Lawson, Shaquille	DE	D.W. Daniel
Leamon, Javarius	OL-T	Woodruff
McCollough, JJ	RB-LB	Nation Ford
Meredith, Justin	TE	T.L. Hanna
President, Gimel	DE	Wando
Quattlebaum, Brandon	RB	Dutch Fork
Richardson, Montel	LB	Blythewood
Roland, Josh	WR	Greer
Roland, Shaq	Ath	Lexington
Salley, Kendrick	RB	Williston-Elko
Smalls, Virgil	FB	Goose Creek
Smith, Kwinton	WR	Dillon
Smith, Raymond	RB	Dorman
Tankersley, Cordrea	WR	Silver Bluff
Washington, Bryson	Ath	Ninety-Six
Wharton, Shakeem	RB	Byrnes
Williams, Demetris	RB	Bamberg-Erhardt
Wright, Tony	CB	Chester