Priority South Carolina target on verge of five-star status, Local EDGE debuts as four-star

On3 pushed a huge update to its class of 2026 rankings on Monday with the new On300 featuring three South Carolina commitments and dozens of Gamecocks targets (check out a list at the bottom of the page).

Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park EDGE Rodney Dunham Jr., a long-time priority South Carolina target is right on the cusp of five-star status and is now the No. 7 prospect in the county, according to On3.

“Dunham has the look of a natural pass rusher,” Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said. “At around 6-foot-4, 215 pounds with plus length, he has a developmental frame along with excellent get-off and bend around the edge. Dunham is a coordinated athlete and shows encouraging flashes of pass rush skill. He makes impressive plays in pursuit. Dunham doesn’t turn 17 years-old until July, so he is younger for the cycle and has room to continue developing from a size and strength perspective.”

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Another prospect of interest made a huge debut in the On3 rankings as local Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork EDGE Julian Walker grabbed four-star status as the No. 134 overall prospect and No. 19 EDGE in the 2026 class.

“Walker is a jumbo EDGE who came on as a junior while helping his team to a state title,” Power said on Twitter/X. “6’6, 230 with 9.5 sacks as a junior, playing some of his best ball in the playoffs.

Walker’s father is on the Gamecocks’ strength staff and he discussed his recruitment with GamecockCentral recently.

Roebuck (S.C.) Dorman four-star safety Kentavion Anderson, a priority target for both South Carolina and Clemson, made a huge jump, going from outside of the Top 300 to No. 75 overall in his class.

South Carolina cornerback commitment Peyton Dyer moved up to four-star status with the rankings update. Dyer, who was previously ranked the No. 25 cornerback in the country, is now the No. 20 CB and No. 189 overall prospect in his class.

He is one of three South Carolina commitments in the On300.

Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe four-star safety J’Zavien Currence maintained his rating of 91 and slid back slightly in the overall rankings to 111, likely mostly due to new prospects entering the top 100 ahead of him (rather than him truly moving down). Currence is the No. 10 safety in his class and No. 3 prospect in the state of South Carolina.

Newberry (S.C.) tight end Jamel Howse remains in the On300. The four-star prospect has a rating of 90 and is the No. 188 overall prospect and No. 11 TE in his class.

As a reminder, these On3 rankings are put together by the company’s in-house evaluators and are different from the On3 Industry Ranking, which is a weighted average of the four major recruiting media sites.

The update comes more than five months after the last in mid-October and saw some of the biggest changes in the entire recruiting cycle.

Power offered insight into what went into the latest update:

Since putting the 2025 cycle to bed last month, we’ve begun to dive into the junior seasons of 2026 prospects. In addition to parsing full film and production from the preexisting group, hundreds of prospects have emerged on FBS radars since the last 2026 On300 update in October. We also saw dozens of 2026 prospects in national all-star games in January — a new development. Movement in this update may seem more volatile than later in the cycle. Much of that is due to the rapid expansion of the prospect pool with the emergence of so many more prospects. There are 56 new entrants into the On300 with this update.

South Carolina targets in the On300

EDGE Carter Meadows – 98 Rating. No. 6 overall. No. 2 EDGE.

EDGE Rodney Dunham Jr. – 97 Rating. No. 7 overall. No. 3 EDGE.

IOL PJ Dean – 95 Rating. No. 22 overall. No. 1 IOL.

DB Khari Adams – 94 Rating. No. 30 overall. No. 4 CB

OL Zyon Guiles – 93 Rating. No. 40 overall. No. 3 IOL.

DL Aiden Harris – 93 Rating. No. 43 overall. No. 5 DL.

OL J.B. Shabazz – 93 Rating. No. 57 overall. No. 7 OT.

OL Darius Gray – 93 Rating. No. 64 overall. No. 5 IOL.

DB Kentavion Anderson – 92 Rating. No. 75 overall. No. 6 S.

DB Samari Matthews – 92 Rating. No. 90 overall. No. 10 CB.

S J’Zavien Currence (South Carolina commitment) – 91 Rating. No. 111 overall. No. 10 S.

OL Ekene Ogboko – 91 Rating. No. 113 overall. No. 13 OT.

QB Landon Duckworth – 91 Rating, No. 121 overall. No. 10 QB.

RB Messiah Mickens (Penn State commit) – 91 Rating, No. 132 overall. No. 10 RB.

EDGE Julian Walker – 91 Rating. No. 134 overall. No. 19 EDGE.

RB Carsyn Baker – 91 Rating. No. 136 overall. No. 11 RB.

WR Travis Johnson – 91 Rating. No. 138 overall. No. 16 WR.

WR Ryan Mosley – 91 Rating. No. 140 overall. No. 7 ATH.

WR Gordon Sellars – 90 Rating. No. 184 overall. No. 24 WR.

TE Jamel Howse (South Carolina commit) – 90 Rating. No. 188 overall. No. 11 TE.

CB Peyton Dyer (South Carolina commit) – 90 Rating. No. 189 overall. No. 20 CB.

QB Brady Smigiel – 90 Rating. No. 191 overall. No. 13 QB.

OL Carter Scruggs – 90 Rating. No. 207 overall. No. 11 IOL.

OL Kamari Blair – 90 Rating. No. 221 overall. No. 21 OT.

RB Jaylen McGill – 90 Rating. No. 228 overall. No. 21 RB.

OL Micah Smith – 90 Rating. No. 252 overall. No. 18 IOL.

EDGE Andrew Harris – 90 Rating. No. 254 overall. No. 29 EDGE.

RB Javian Mallory – 90 Rating. No. 269 overall. No. 27 RB.

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