Early Look at SC's Top 2012 Prospects

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Jan 20 21:10:05 GMT-04:00 2011

With National Signing Day just a few short weeks away, we decided to take an early look at some of the top prospects in the state of South Carolina for 2012.

Today we start with the Top Five, with numbers six through ten tomorrow.

Keep in mind, this is an early ranking based off of what opposing coaches say, college interest, 2011 stats, etc., so this is very likely to change.

1. Shaq Roland, ATH, 6-1 170, Lexington HS/Lexington, SC. - Roland is an exceptional athlete who had over 1,000 combined receiving and rushing yards, with 30 touchdowns, as a junior. He lined up all over the field for the Wildcats, including wide receiver, but he projects as a safety on the collegiate level. He is also a top-notch basketball player, and hasn’t announced whether he wants to play both sports in college or not. He said he will make that decision after this signing day. He has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Florida, Florida St., Maryland, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, North Carolina and LSU.

2. Javarius Leamon, OL, 6-6 260, Woodruff HS/Woodruff, SC - Leamon will more than likely be the state’s top offensive line prospect for 2012, a year that Clemson needs to get more offensive lineman than skill players. As of now, he has offers from Clemson and South Carolina, but has drawn interest from all of the big names across the southeast. Once this signing day is over, he will begin getting offers from everybody else.

3. Patrick Destefano, OL, 6-5 270, Dorman HS/Roebuck, SC - Destefano has offers from Clemson, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Stanford, Northwestern, South Carolina, North Carolina, N.C. State and Duke. He said that Clemson was an early leader, and has a great relationship with Clemson offensive line coach Brad Scott. In fact, following the win over Georgia Tech last season, I saw Destefano charge across the field and grab Scott before he could get into the tunnel. He was asking him about certain things he had seen the line do during the game, and was getting an impromptu lesson while in a throng of people. I saw him play three different times last season, and he has good hands and footwork, and likes to play with a physical presence. However, he recently took a visit to Duke, where his father Frank [who also played in the NFL] played on the offensive line in college. DeStefano has played guard and tackle – as well as noseguard, tight end, fullback, defensive tackle and defensive end – at Dorman.

4. Gimel President, DL, 6-4 230, Wando HS/Mt Pleasant, SC - President has offers from Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and South Carolina. He had an outstanding junior season and racked up some impressive numbers despite being double-teamed – he had 83 tackles, 37 solo tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 interception. He has incredible speed off the edge. He bench presses 325 pounds, squats 420, runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds and has a 31-inch vertical leap.

5. Cordrea Tankersly, ATH, 6-0 170, Silver Bluff HS/Aiken, SC - Tankersley already has offers from Clemson and South Carolina, and both of the in-state programs have already made visits to his school. So has Nebraska. Billy Napier was recruiting Tankersley for the Tigers, who have yet to connect him with another recruiter. He rushed for 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns during his junior season, and he passed for 900 yards and three touchdowns. He has said that he runs a 4.43 40-yard dash.