Chapin High School football team is highly recruited
CHAPIN, S.C. — Chapin High School in Chapin, South Carolina is breathing rare air these days, with not one, but three highly recruited high school football players. Destined for the NFL? No one knows…yet.
During the 2021 season, from August-November, the Chapin Eagles went 8-4 for a 67% winning percentage, and 2-2 in AAAAA Region 5 conference play. They are ranked No. 30 in the state and coached by Justin Gentry, South Carolina’s 2020 Co-Region Coach of the Year.
While no one was available for personal interviews due to finals and the upcoming holidays; plenty of accolades been heaped upon second-generation sophomore quarterback Jayden Bradford, senior offensive lineman Chase Sweigart and senior wide receiver Zavier Short. All are considered top Division I recruiting prospects.
At least one of them has a legacy to live up to. Bradford’s father, Darin, led the Chapin Eagles to a state championship more than two decades ago. While the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Bradford has two more years to lead the Eagles to a state championship (they lost to Fort Dorchester High School, 44-14, in the second round of the playoffs on Nov. 12,) he is a four-star recruit on Rivals.com, ranked the No. 2 prospect in South Carolina in the Class of 2024, and, is ranked in the Top 100 nationally by 247 Sports. He has already received seven offers from Division I schools, including the University of South Carolina, North Carolina State, Georgia State, and Penn State.
“It has been a childhood dream of mine to play Division I sports,” Bradford told The State.com earlier this year. “I am trying to keep it level-headed.”
Short told The State.com that their vaunted offensive line makes the game fun to play.
“We have known each other for a long time, so we are going to continue to give our best effort,” Short said. “They get out there and don’t talk, play their game and do their talking. And it shows.”
As reported by The State.com, Short, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound wide receiver, got an early Christmas present on December 1, with an offer from the University of South Carolina, after previously committing to Appalachian State.
BLESSED and HONORED to have received an offer from THE University of South Carolina‼️🖤 #AGTG @CoachSBeamer @ErikKimrey @CoachJGentry @Coach_Satt @LouatTheState @coachjstepp pic.twitter.com/aczNM0tnDI
— zavier.short (@ZavierShort) December 1, 2021
It’s a problem most high school seniors might like to have.
“The (USC offer) made it a little more difficult because I was kind of locked in to App State already,” he told the Charlotte Observer. “USC has always been a dream school, but I was already going into App (Appalachian State). But things change, so I have to reevaluate my situation and see what is best for me.”
He deserves every accolade. As reported by the Charlotte Observer, Short is the all-time leading receiver at Chapin with 217 catches for 3,391 yards. This season, he led the Eagles with 67 catches for 1,038 yards and 14 touchdowns.
This weekend, he is playing his final high school game as an all-star in South Carolina’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl, and hopes to make his decision prior to the Dec. 15 deadline.
247Sports ranks Short as a three-star prospect and No. 16 in the state for the Class of 2022. He impressed as he ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash at a camp at North Carolina State this summer, generating interest from a dozen schools, including Yale, Army and Middle Tennessee State.
At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, Chase Sweigart has protected Bradford as an offensive tackle and had been called “the anchor of the offensive line.” He hasn’t committed yet, but offers from Tulane, Virginia Tech, Liberty, South Florida and Charlotte presents the three-star recruit with great opportunities for a stellar college career. Like Short, Sweigart will be playing in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl this weekend.
Besides the Bowl game this weekend, Short and Sweigert were also chosen to compete as a part of the 2021 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas roster, along with offensive lineman Alec Johnson. For the second year in a row, the game was canceled due to COVID-19.
But as great as the players are, they are measured by the quality of their character by their coach, who has been a fixture in South Carolina coaching for nearly 30 years.
“They are very good football players, but they are better young men,” Gentry told The State.com. “When you have those guys in your locker room that are that quality of athlete, but bring a lot more to the table than just a football in their hand, it is phenomenal. I can’t say enough about them, about their leadership off the field, and that is why they are who they are.”
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