Early Look at SC's Top 2012 Prospects - Part 2

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Jan 22 23:14:17 GMT-04:00 2011

CLEMSON – Here is the second part of our look at some of the early 2012 standouts in the state of South Carolina. We did the first five on Thursday and now look at the rest of the Top 10.

While the pure depth of the recruits in the state of South Carolina may be not be as good in 2012 as it was in 2011, the state is stocked with several good offensive line prospects, including Oliver Jones of Ninety Six.

6. Quinshad Davis, WR, 6-3 180, Gaffney HS/Gaffney, SC – One thing for certain is that Davis will be one of the more exciting players in the state this season. Davis racked up an amazing 95 catches in his junior season, including three games in which he had double-digit catches (10 each against Greenville and Greenwood and 11 against Northwestern). He totaled 1,486 yards and had 16 touchdown receptions. In his 13 games, he went over the 100-yard mark in nine of them. The former teammate of current Clemson receiver Joe Craig received his first offer, from Clemson, back in December and he has since added offers from South Carolina and North Carolina. Davis was at Dabo Swinney’s camp last summer, and he worked almost exclusively with receivers coach Jeff Scott. Don’t be surprised if Davis rockets to the top of the state players rankings.

7. Oliver Jones, OL, 6-6 284, Ninety Six HS/Ninety Six, SC – Clemson and South Carolina are the only two offers for this big prospect, who attended a Clemson bowl practice last month. Clemson has the lead for Jones, but South Carolina is a close second. He also has interest in Alabama.

8. Martin Aiken, DL, 6-3 240, Bamberg Ehrhardt HS/Bamberg, SC – Aiken can rush the passers in two ways – he is quick enough to go off the edge, and he can also use the bull-rush when necessary. He is listed at 240 pounds right now, but will get bigger as he begins to fill out. He came to Clemson’s camp last year and then watched the Tigers in their season-opening win, but does not yet have an offer from Clemson. South Carolina, Wake Forest, Tennessee, North Carolina, Illinois and Tennessee have all offered him, and more offers will come. (Interesting note – he is being recruited at Illinois by former Clemson coaches Ron West and Vic Koenning). He finished 2012 with more than 90 tackles and eight sacks. His coach, Kevin Crosby, says Aiken isn’t quite where former Bamberg players Ricky Sapp and Da’Quan Bowers were before they made it to Clemson, but he’s getting close.

“He is an explosive player that really came on as junior and played very well,” Crosby told TigerNet. “He is a maturing player. He has played for us for three years, and I think he will be a pretty good one with one more year of work. He is not right where Ricky and Da’Quan were at this time, but by the time we get finished with him this offseason, and he steps on the field in the fall, he will be right up there with them. He has a lot of upside to him.”

9. Kendric Salley, RB, 5-10 220, Williston-Elko HS/Williston, SC – Salley took his name off the board early, committing to South Carolina in early December. Salley finished his junior season with 173 carries for 2,191 yards and 30 touchdowns. The Gamecocks were Salley's first official offer.

10. Mark Irick, WR, 6-4 180, Calhoun County HS/St. Matthews, SC – Irick is a tall receiver who uses his body well to shield defenders from the ball. At this point, he has been offered by South Carolina and Auburn, but expect more to follow. Clemson, East Carolina, Florida St., Georgia, Georgia Tech, Penn St., Oregon, Kentucky and North Carolina St. have all shown interest and will be players before it’s all over. He is a former teammate of Shamier Jeffery, who is committed to South Carolina.

Early Look at SC's Top 2012 Prospects - Part 1