ROCK HILL- On March 14, Rock Hill High School announced that Gaffney co-defensive coordinator Randy Birch would be taking over the post as the Bearcats’ new head coach. The long-tenured assistant from the Upstate inherits a program who finished 6-5 overall and 4-1 in AAAAA (5A) and Region 3 in 2023.
Palmetto Preps co-owner Lee Wardlaw caught up with Birch in a long-ranging interview to discuss his new role in “Football City USA” 🇺🇸 and preview his Bearcats as they begin to make preparations for a big season ahead in the top division of football in the Palmetto State.
For our subscribers, here is everything we learned about Birch and the Bearcats.
Rock Hill returns a familiar face in speedy, rangy, route-running 4-star wide receiver Malik Clark. He is ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the Palmetto State and No. 49 player at the position, according to Rivals’ most recent rankings.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is committed to Florida State.
But the Bearcats will not be welcoming back the other portion of the dynamic duo that fascinated fans in the Football City throughout the last two seasons under the “Friday Night Lights of the Palmetto State.”
That’s because Matthew Wilson, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound 2-star who proved to have both a cannon of an arm and electric legs, collecting 2,155 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air and 321 yards and 10 scores on the ground, waved goodbye to his prep career. He committed to Appalachian State in late Dec.
Wilson and Clark treated fans to major theatrics last fall, all while super-boosting their Division 1 recruitment stock throughout the season.
As the exciting signal-caller moves on to Boone to play for offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach Frank Ponce, who once led Malik Cunningham at the position under head coach Scott Satterfield during his time coaching quarterbacks at Louisville from 2019-2020, Birch and his new staff are still working to figure out who will be playing under center when the Bearcats take the field against River Bluff on Aug. 23 in Columbia.
While Wilson may be leaving the Hill to chase the high of big-time Group of Five football with the traditionally-strong Mountaineers, the Bearcats will not be left without a capable passer as they enter their big opener against the Gators. The only question is who will be calling those plays under center.
With spring practice concluding and 7-on-7’s and summer workouts coming into focus, the Bearcats should have two solid options in the form of Ian Grissom and Kason Canupp at the position. Those two players will be led by a capable position coach in Jake Bentley, the former South Carolina quarterback who was recently named as co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and passing game coordinator earlier in the offseason.
The presumptive starter for Bentley’s unit will be Grissom, another player this outlet has provided extensive coverage of. The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder is a transfer product of Lewisville High School in Richburg, SC. Playing in 16 games with the Lions, he helped the program amass a 21-4 record in the 1A, recording 4,173 yards and 57 touchdowns on a 69.1% completion percentage.
Grissom’s solid play in the 1A, which helped him earn All-State honors, could help him score the starting role at Rock Hill, but becoming the Bearcats’ quarterback is a job that is not inherited, but earned, Birch emphasized.
With the Bearcats’ head coach arriving freshly from Gaffney, where he had been since May 2013, the “earning it” is a mentality that not only holds true for Grissom, but the entire Rock Hill roster. Even if their name happens to be Malik Clark.
“We’re working from scratch. All of us will be re-earning our jobs,” he said.
Whether he ends up starting under center or sitting on the bench when opening day rolls around, Grissom’s hard work is paying major dividends on the recruiting trail. The quarterback tendered his first offer from Limestone on June 1 and is also hearing of interest from Catawba, Charleston Southern, Lenoir-Rhyne, North Carolina Central, the Virginia Military Institute, and Western Carolina.
Meanwhile, 5-foot-11, 155-pound rising junior Kason Canupp is just getting warmed up under the leadership of the former Gamecocks’ legend. “I’ve been working with (Bentley). And he is making me a lot better of a player and person,” he said.
Canupp went in detail on how he likes Bentley as a coach. “I love the way Bentley leads us in practice and through drills. It’s just way he teaches us in a way that we understand. He is a great leader that you want to be around,” he said.
Birch broke down the quarterback battle with Palmetto Preps. “(Grissom) is a great football player and competitor and good athlete. He has slightly more arm, but Cason make the right reads and throws on time (better). The quarterbacks are battling it out everyday, and they’re doing a fantastic job,” Birch said.
Whether Grissom or Canupp earns the starting role, each player see valuable minutes this season. “Both will find their spot on the field somewhere,” the head coach said.
Either way, the offensive line should appear to be in good shape. 6-foot-3, 268-pounder Jake Phillips anchors the unit at center. He provided a strong push on right and left-angle in 2023. He works from a strong base to absorb blockers and create a perimeter for the quarterback, giving his passer time to throw. Phillips camped at Anderson and South Carolina.
“(Jake) had a big offseason. I’m expecting big things out of him,” Birch said.
The tough-nosed blocker will be joined by 6-foot-4, 269-pound offensive tackle Bryce Hagen. “He came along strongly in the spring,” the Bearcats’ head coach said.
6-foot-3, 240-pound Devon Smith, absorbed the pass rush, showed off quick feet moving horizontally and vertically, provided a strong push run blocking. He demonstrated physicality and a relentless motor.
Smith has long arms, great athleticism, and an overall intriguing upside. And while his measurables are more consistent with a basketball center than a Division 1 offensive lineman, he certainly looks like a strong player on film. Perhaps Smith’s prowess could be utilized on the defensive line in the FBS or at offensive line in the FCS.
Smith should figure into the mix at the offensive tackle position for the Bearcats, and Birch likes what he sees in the player. But don’t tell that to the new Rock Hill head coach.
“The tackle position remains up in the air. Bodies are there, but finding the right combination is key. “We’re trying to find the right combo. Who goes where. Who is the guard? Who is the tackle? We’re going to have a position battle. We’re still finding out what are roles are going to be,” he said.
Birch listed RB, DL, and LB as groups where with question marks remain and battles for starting jobs will take place during the offseason.
But there is plenty of to like at the defensive back position, said the defensive-loving head coach who used to play under Geoff Collins as a defensive lineman at Western Carolina.
Among those which include 5-foot-10, 160-pound AJ Sanders. “(Sanders) could become a guy,” he said.
But the most exciting of the group could be the Class of 2027 combo of Kaiden Watkins and Nigel Lightner, each who saw valuable playing time as freshman last fall.
Watkins, an early, 5-foot-10, Class of 2027 cornerback, already lists offers from Middle Tennessee, Syracuse, and West Virginia.
Lightner, who also stars as a guard on the Bearcats’ basketball team, could be a threat as a sophomore. He showed what he is capable of during an exciting pick-six against Fort Mill last October.
His footwork, anticipation, awareness, and ball tracking acumen he put on display during that play caught my eye. The highly athletic maneuver, where he took a great inside angle, stole the ball the receiver, and ran it back to the house for a touchdown, demonstrated some of the raw skills that Lightner possesses. And those traits could take him to the next level short years from now. Playing for the elite Carolina Stars’ 7-on-7 team during the offseason and making an appearance at the Florida State camp also adds intrigue to his early recruitment.
But major injuries at the position will still have to be accounted for. A big loss occurred earlier in the month when 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior Rakwon Stratford went down with an broken collarbone earlier this month on a Monday at a 7-on-7 tournament in Gaffney.
