Why college football transfer portal is blocking some Shrine Bowl of Carolinas all-stars

They are the best high school football players in the state.

They’ve received the ultimate honor of being selected to the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, an all-star game featuring the top seniors in South Carolina against the top seniors in North Carolina.

The Upstate has 11 players in the Shrine Bowl. Six are still uncommitted for college. Four don’t have any firm offers above Division II.

As South Carolina practiced this week for the 1 p.m. game Saturday at Spartanburg High School, much of the talk amongst players behind the scenes was sharing horror stories about being forced to wait beyond reasonable expectation.

They blame the college football portal.

“It’s the portal. No doubt about it. That’s easy,” Spartanburg defensive back Demario Bookhart said. “That’s what a lot of coaches are telling people out here. They want to see what they can get from the portal and then see what’s left. … It affects high school seniors a lot. You see a guy out here and think, ‘No way that guy doesn’t have an offer.’ But with the portal, that’s just how it is.”

The deadline to sign players from the transfer portal is Jan. 2. The signing period for high school players begins Dec. 20.

“It could be a real quiet week,” Bookhart said.

The Upstate’s higher profile Shrine Bowl players have their spots. Greenville offensive linemen Blake Franks and Julius Tate have committed to South Carolina and Coastal Carolina, respectively. Christ Church running back Dashun Reeder is headed to Northwestern, Hillcrest wide receiver Avery McFadden to Georgia State, Westside wide receiver Jimmar Boston to NC State and Daniel offensive lineman Watson Young to Clemson.

But then there is Bookhart, Gaffney standouts in defensive end Jarriel Jefferies and offensive lineman Jake Buerk, Belton-Honea Path linebacker Omari Jackson and Riverside defensive end Marcus Downs still without college decisions made.

Downs is in a different category. He was an early commit to Georgia Tech and backed away from that but said he will not wait for the portal to close.

“I’m going to be committing soon. Real soon,” Down said “Maybe this week.”

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Downs said he feels for his new teammates without so much security.

“It’s a little scary out here, man,” Downs said. “A lot of guys are going through it now because of the transfer portal, which I understand. I had a few colleges do that to me, too. I think these guys just need to show out in this game. There’s a whole bunch of college coaches who are paying close attention to this.”

Bookhart said the lack of commitment from college coaches makes it difficult for high school seniors to commit to college coaches. He has offers from Georgia State and Arkansas State, but nothing since the start of this season.

“I’m really just waiting right now,” Bookhart said. “I’ve been using it as fuel. It makes me go harder. But I have two good offers. I’m fine. I worry more about my brothers out here.”

Buerk is playing center on a projected starting all-star offensive line that includes not only Franks, Tate and Young but also Dillon’s Josiah Thompson, the state’s Mr. Football award winner who is committed to South Carolina.

“I’m keeping all my options open,” said Buerk, who has offers from Anderson, Newberry and Lenoir-Rhyne. “My mindset is to just come out Saturday and play hard. … But I agree that the portal is hurting high school football left and right.”

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Jackson said his only offer is from Newberry but that Jackson State, NC Central and a few others have expressed interest.

“There’s a lot of us like me out here,” Jackson said. “It just makes us feel like we need to show that we deserve what we’ve earned.”

Jefferies said his only offer is from Anderson.

“Anderson would be a good fit for me,” Jefferies said. “If I do good in the Shrine Bowl, maybe more will come. I do believe that the portal is killing everything right now.”

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: SC high school football: Transfer portal blocking some all-stars