Shrine Bowl: Five up, two down
The 2017 edition of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is in the books, with the North Carolina squad coming away with a 55-24 victory. Today we take a look at which players helped or hurt their rankings stock with their performances at practices throughout the week and in Saturday’s game.
SHRINE BOWL: Prospects make predictions | Commits make class predictions
FIVE UP
The versatile athlete exploded in Saturday’s game, hauling in seven passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. The performance capped of a phenomenal week for the three-star prospect, who committed to South Carolina on Wednesday. Word is the Gamecocks are looking to play Thompson on defense but he’s clearly a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands. He caused matchup problems for his South Carolina teammates in practice all week and turned it up even another notch in the game. Thompson’s play over the week was the icing on the cake after a terrific senior season and he’s surely earned a big bump in the rankings.
Carter was the most reliable receiver for the North Carolina team all week. That’s really saying something when that receiving corps also features guys like Rivals100 prospect Jordyn Adams and Rivals250 prospect Dyami Brown. The NC State commit’s big frame and ability to consistently win jump balls made him a nightmare for defensive backs. Carter scored the first touchdown of the game on a deep route down the sideline for a 20-yard score. He finished the game with two catches for 30 yards and that one touchdown.
Brown, a North Carolina commit, was the most explosive player on the North Carolina team and probably the most versatile too. Throughout the week of practice, he had a lot of success during 7-on-7 sessions and picked up big chunks of yards on sweeps. During the game Brown returned a kickoff for a 92-yard touchdown and even played cornerback a bit. He also finished with one rush for 12 yards, two catches for 24 yards and one tackle.
It was a great overall week for Jeffcoat as he showed nice development from start to finish while adjusting to playing outside linebacker full-time. Jeffcoat’s size and athletic ability make him a tantalizing prospect and his effort to learn the position during the week paid off in the game as he had four tackles, including one for loss and half a sack. The Missouri target is still a raw prospect who will need time to develop but he deserves to be ranked higher at his position and in the state of South Carolina.
Edwards is absolutely massive but surprised many with how quick his feet were. The Wake Forest commit anchored the North Carolina offensive line at left tackle and did a good job neutralizing the South Carolina team’s best pass rushers. Edwards was tested during the week of practice by the excellent defensive linemen on the North Carolina squad but he really held his own. Edwards helped his team gain more than 300 rushing yards in the game.
TWO DOWN
The South Carolina commit had his share of struggles during the week, both in practice and in Saturday’s game. Ranked as a Rivals250 prospect, much more was expected from Joyner as a passer and he was consistently inconsistent throughout the work. He routinely missed wide receivers and also struggled to deliver catchable balls. He showed some flashes in Saturday’s game, but ultimately finished 2-of-5 passing for 69 yards and one interception and didn’t look very dangerous as a runner despite scoring a touchdown early. Joyner is still a four-star based on his future potential but he looks like he might be a little too high in the Rivals250.
Johnson was a late addition to the North Carolina roster and had a tough time quickly adjusting to the speed of the competition. An East Carolina commit, Johnson has great size and range but could be destined to play safety instead of cornerback once he gets on campus. His footwork needs to improve before teams could feel confident about leaving him in single coverage on a primary wide receiver. Johnson finished the game with one tackle.