All Decade Football Team
It has been an outstanding decade from 2000 - 2009 for SCVarsity.com and for
myself. When I began pondering an All-Decade Team I was flooded with memories of
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seeing fantastic high school players on the gridiron. The list I've put together
is purely from memory, so I'm sure I will leave some out. If there is someone
missing, email me at scvarsity@sc.rr.com
and "jog" my memory. Enjoy reading over the names and I hope as you
get a glimpse at them, you'll capture some fond memories, too.
The cut-off for this team is the Class of 2010, so if you notice some names
missing that are part of the junior class this year, that's the reason. Those
guys will be part of the next All-Decade team in ten years!
Best Quarterback Of The Decade:
Here is a great debate. There are many who will argue Willy Korn because of
the numbers he put up. And I've been noted as saying he was one of the best QB's
to play the game in South Carolina. But if you look at the impact that the
particular player had on his team, combined with his numbers and achievements,
then I've got to go with Blythewood's Richard Mounce. He was an outstanding dual
threat and was extremely difficult to game plan for. If it were not for the
SCHSL, Mounce would have led his team to another state title game his senior
year.
Best Running Back Of The Decade:
Demetris Summers of Lexington was the best running back of the decade, and,
in my opinion, the best high school running back the state has ever seen. I've
been doing recruiting and evaluations for 24 years and he is one of the best
high school players I've ever seen - and the best back I've ever seen since
watching Emmitt Smith at Escambia High School. As a matter of fact, Summers'
surpassed Smith in the national record books.
Best Wide Receiver of The Decade:
This is a tough one. As much as I want to say A.J. Green, I'm going to have
to go with Tymere Zimmerman of Marlboro County High School. Zimmerman (2000).
Zimmerman had the size, speed, vertical ability, and the stickiest hands I've
seen in a high school wide receiver. He could catch anything - not just the
catchable balls. I suppose the edge he had over Green was that he was a more
physical player.
Best Offensive Lineman of The Decade:
This is a tough position to pick just one. So many of these guys don't get
the press attention and you rarely hear about their accolades on the field. But
from just memory, there were two players who stand out in my mind as absolutely
dominating their opponents every time I saw them on film or live. So, I'm going
with Leon Hart from Spring Valley and Quinton Washington from Timberland for
this pick.
Best "Utility" Player of the Decade:
Most of these guys played other positions, but this selection is based on how
much they impacted their team. I will tell you that while Bruce Ellington of
Berkeley was very close to the top of this list, I don't think there was another
player like Stephon Gilmore of South Pointe High School in terms of what he
meant to his team on both sides of the ball, as well as the impact he had on the
amount of success his team had.
Best Kicking Specialist Of The Decade:
This is a toss up; I think Jad Dean was an outstanding kicker and went on to
have a good career at Clemson, but I also like Jake Broome of Camden. I'll
always remember the game winner he kicked in the state championship game with
those golden shoes (literally, golden shoes).
Best Defensive Lineman of the Decade:
In my mind, this is an easy pick. There was not another player on the
defensive line that dominated his man like Daquan Bowers of Bamberg-Ehrhardt.
Bowers was not only the best defensive linemen of the decade, but he is one of
the best high school football players I've seen play the game of my 24 years of
doing this.
Best Linebacker of the Decade:
There were so many players on this list whom I would not argue if they were
listed as the best of the decade. But the one that sticks out in my mind, and it
was because of the big-time hits I watched him make from his sophomore year
through his senior year, is Ricardo Hurley of Greenwood High School. He was a
pad-level player with the ability to make ball-carriers miserable for the entire
game.
Best Defensive Back of the Decade:
Like almost every other position, there are so many guys on this list that
could be labeled "the best of the decade" with little argument from
me. But I'm going to go with Fredrick Bennett of Manning High School because I
watched him stick to one of the decade's best athletes (Roscoe Crosby) like glue
in the 2000 state championship game. (yeh, I know, Union won the game anyway)
Here's the list; enjoy. Again, if I've missed someone, jog my memory.
