Good football coaches have an eye for special talent, even when it's still developing. Rodney Mooney, the head coach at Wilson High in Florence, SC, witnessed a play three years ago in a state playoff game that convinced him Jyron Waiters had the skill that would someday earn him a chance to play major-college football. Waiters, a sophomore who rotated between quarterback … [Read more...]

There was a time when Shaikh Thompson envisioned himself wearing a uniform that didn't include shoulder pads or a fancy jersey with his name on the back. "His plan was to go into the military,'' said Hilton Head Island (SC) High School football coach B.J. Payne. "He thought he was going to the Marines. He'd been in Marine programs since he was five years old. "But then he … [Read more...]

Omarion Lewis posed an unusual problem for coach Jeff Craddock back in the fall of 2020. Lewis was a freshman defensive back just joining the powerhouse program at Tarboro (NC) High School who was actually too physical during the Vikings' preseason camp. "When he was a freshman, he was hitting people so hard he was giving himself concussions,'' Craddock said. "We had to slow … [Read more...]

East Carolina's second-year running backs coach Re'quan Boyette was roaming around his old stomping grounds in Durham late last year when he dropped into Hillside High School. Although a native of Wilson in Eastern NC, Boyette spent 14 years of his life in Durham as a player and then coach at Duke University. And Hillside has long been a developing ground for college … [Read more...]

Sam Riddy remembers the moment he realized playing major college football might be possible. Riddy was just a sophomore at North Charleston (SC) High School appearing in his sixth varsity game against Oceanside Collegiate Academy. A tight end-defensive end, Riddy was just starting to emerge as a playmaker for the Cougars. But late in the game against Oceanside, Riddy … [Read more...]