Ranking Upstate's best DLs in 2024 South Carolina high school football season

With the South Carolina high school football season nearing its Aug. 23 kickoff of Week Zero, here's a look at rankings for the Upstate's best defensive linemen in the SCHSL. Eastside has two of the top players on the list in Jaquavious Dodd and Michael Posey.

Here's our list from No. 7 to No. 1:

Best SC high school football DLs in Upstate for 2024

7. Eli Smith

Mountain View Prep

Vitals: 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, Sr.

Smith, a transfer from Blue Ridge, should be a key addition for the first-year program Mountain View Prep of Region 3-AAA. Last season, he had 109 tackles, including 14 for loss and 70 solo stops, as a defensive end who can play linebacker.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL POSITION RANKINGS: Anderson subscribers: | Offensive line | Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Defensive back | Linebackers

6. DJ Henderson

Hillcrest

Vitals: 5-11, 220, Sr.

Henderson is another versatile defensive end who can drop back into a linebacker position. Last season he had five sacks, 30 solo tackles, two forced fumbles and three recovered fumbles.

5. Donavan Briggs

Hillcrest

Vitals: 5-10, 240, Sr.

Briggs was a standout at both defensive end and tackle last season with 53 tackles, eight for loss, with two sacks and 13 quarterback hurries. Hillcrest allowed only 15.4 points per game and had the best defense in Region 1-AAAA.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL POSITION RANKINGS: Greenville subscribers: | Offensive line | Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Defensive back | Linebackers

4. Jaidyn Ferguson

Byrnes

Vitals: 6-2, 225, Sr.

Ferguson is one of the fastest and most athletic players on either side of the ball. He had seven sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hurries last season in leading Byrnes to the Region 2-AAAAA championship. He deflected three passes and forced two fumbles.

3. Michael Posey

Eastside

Vitals: 6-0, 205, Jr.

College offer: Miami (Ohio)

Posey in his sophomore season had seven sacks, 15 tackles for loss of yards and two fumble recoveries in the backfield. He will continue to wreak havoc with opposing offenses forced to concentrate more on a four-star defensive line teammate.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL POSITION RANKINGS: Spartanburg subscribers: | Offensive line | Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Defensive back | Linebackers

2. Jair Simmons

Greenville

Vitals: 6-1, 300, Sr.

College offer: Marshall

Simmons is the leader of a Greenville defense that was among the best in the state. The Red Raiders were far and away the best in Region 1-AAAA, holding league opponents to just 11.2 points per game. He had 35 solo tackles, including 3.5 for loss.

1. Jaquavious Dodd

Eastside

Vitals: 6-5, 255, Sr.

College commitment: South Carolina. Offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, UConn, East Carolina, Elon, Gardner-Webb, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Howard, Liberty, Miami (Ohio), North Carolina A&T, Richmond, Troy, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wofford)

Dodd is the state’s No. 4 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports, which ranked the four-star recruit as the No. 21 edge rusher in the country. Dodd last season had 13 sacks, 24 tackles for loss and 53 total tackles with 34 unassisted.

Todd Shanesy is an award-winning senior writer who now covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at todd.shanesy@shj.com . Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ .

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Ranking Upstate's best DLs in 2024 South Carolina high school football season