S.C. teammates a fab junior trio

South Carolina’s Greenville High School drew its fair share of major college scouts this season, thanks in large part to the presence of Rivals100 offensive lineman Corey Lambert.

According to Red Raiders coach Larry Frost, it was merely a sneak preview of what may happen in 2004.

Greenville, coming off a 12-1 season, returns three of the state’s top juniors next season.

“We’ve got three great ones,” Frost said. “There’s already been some attention on them, and it’s going to be pretty busy around here next year based on what I’m already hearing from the college coaches.”

Headlining the talented trio is running back Travil Jamison. The 6-foot, 205-pounder has 4.5 speed, which helped him lead the Palmetto State in rushing this year. He carried the ball 289 times for 2,406 yards and 33 touchdowns. He scored at least two touchdowns in all but one game, and closed his season with an inspired effort (34 carries, 299 yards, 2 touchdowns) in a narrow playoff defeat to Greer.

“He’s a beast,” Frost said with a laugh. “He’s the complete back. He has great breakaway speed or he can mix it up between the tackles. One thing that all the coaches see in him already is that he runs with his shoulder pads parallel to the goal line 98 percent of the time. He’s a north-south guy, and he’ll run you over in a heartbeat.”

Jamison is already receiving attention from Clemson, South Carolina, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Look for that list to expand considerably between now his senior season.

“It’ll be everybody who sees his tapes,” Frost said.

While Jamison dominated teams on the ground, Greenville’s quarterback also turned in a monster season. Jordan Sorrells (6-2, 185, 4.85) was the second-leading passer in the state as a junior, completing 192 of 351 passes (55 percent) for 2,959 yards and 35 touchdowns. In a September matchup against Carolina, he tossed six touchdown passes.

“He’s a definite D-I prospect,” Frost said. “He is extremely intelligent and very smart with the ball. His dad is the offensive coordinator at Furman, and it shows. I coach quarterbacks, and he makes it very easy to do. He’s grown up around it. He’s also got a good, strong arm and he’s pretty accurate.”

Frost said the in-state schools, along with Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, have already been inquiring about Sorrells.

The third Greenville junior to watch is defensive end Nathan Pepper (6-3, 248, 4.75). He was fourth on the team in tackles and had nine sacks as a junior.

“He’s a tremendous player off the edge,” Frost said. “He has a great motor that runs all the time, and he’s a real nice all-around athlete. He was also the second-leading scorer on the basketball team last season. That kind of tells you what kind of agility he has at that size. He’s what you look for in a pass-rushing defensive end.”

Frost said the in-state schools, Georgia and Florida State, have been showing a lot of interest in Pepper.

“Georgia’s been on him for a while now,” he added. “They invited him down to their one-day camp as a junior. I know they’re very impressed with him.”