With the South Carolina high school football season nearing its Aug. 23 kickoff of Week Zero, here’s a look at some of the Upstate’s best defensive backs in the SCHSL. The list includes three transfers, including Westside’s Armoni Weaver and Chamarryus Bomar, two-way players joining the Class AAAA state champion.
Here’s our ranking of the Upstate’s best DBs, from 7 to 1:
Best SC high school football DBs in Upstate for 2024
7. Somad Eaddy
Riverside
Vitals: 5-11, 155, Jr.
College offers: Maryland, West Virginia
Eaddy burst onto the scene as a freshman with six interceptions and added three more last season with six pass breakups. He can play anywhere in the defensive backfield but usually as a shut-down cornerback.
6. Jeremiah Favorite
Boiling Springs
Vitals: 6-0, 170, Jr.
College offers: East Carolina, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech
Earlier this year at the Carolina Coaches Combine, where players from North and South Carolina were tested in skills for verification, Favorite won the overall defensive award.
5. Zeke Marshall
Westside
Vitals: 6-6, 200, Sr.
College offers: Appalachian State, Charlotte, East Carolina, Troy, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Marshall last season had nine interceptions, third-most in the state, and another six passes defended. He has a dozen picks in the past two seasons. Marshall also had 87 tackles for Class AAAA state champion Westside.
4. Ramani Bruton
J.L. Mann
Vitals: 6-0, 170, Sr.
College offers: Georgia State, Marshall
Bruton transferred from Greenville and is a key addition to a Mann team that went 11-3 and lost in the Class AAAAA Upper State final, 31-30, to eventual state champ Dutch Fork. Bruton has 11 interceptions in two years, including three in one game last season.
3. Cam Strong
T.L. Hanna
Vitals: 6-1, 170, Sr.
College commitment: N.C. State (with offers from Duke, Charlotte, East Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, Michigan State, The Citadel, Toledo, Tulane, USF, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia)
Strong is ranked as the state’s No. 2 defensive back and the 14th best overall player in the 2025 class by the 247Sports Composite. He is rated as a three-star by 247Sports, which has him as the state’s No. 3 defensive back. He’s a shutdown cornerback for a Hanna team that went 10-2.
UPSTATE’S TOP WIDE RECEIVERS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
2. Chamarryus Bomar
Westside
Vitals: 5-10, 180, Sr.
College commitment: Appalachian State (with offers from Boston College, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Liberty, Maryland, Old Dominion, Tulane, UAB, Virginia Tech)
Bomar is a transfer from Byrnes with Armoni Weaver, who is also committed to Appalachian State, and both are players to watch as wide receivers as well. Bomar is the ranked as the state’s No. 9 player overall by 247Sports.
UPSTATE’S TOP RUNNING BACKS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
1. Armoni Weaver
Westside
Vitals: 5-10, 170, Sr.
College commitment: Appalachian State (with offers from Boston College, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Duke, East Carolina, James Madison, Liberty, Marshall, Maryland, Missouri, Old Dominion, UAB, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech)
Weaver is the state’s No. 8 overall recruit in the 2025 class and No. 2 defensive back, behind only Tennessee commit Onis Konanbanny of Heathwood Hall, according to 247Sports. He may be just as valuable as a wide receiver. Last season at Byrnes, he had 29 catches for 721 yards and six touchdowns.
UPSTATE’S TOP QUARTERBACKS: Greenville subscribers | Spartanburg | Anderson
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: Top SCHSL football players in 2024? Ranking defensive backs in Upstate
Greenville News
