W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
To be honest, this one has gotten a couple of re-writes. To say that Jaishawn Barham pulled a rare true surprise for everyone involved would be an understatement.
In the end, South Carolina outside linebackers and defensive ends coach Mike Peterson wins a big-boy recruiting battle today as the Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances four-star linebacker commits to the Gamecocks over Maryland, Penn State and Oklahoma.
Barham, by nature, is a quiet kid who conducts little to no interviews and prefers to fly under the radar, and Peterson, who was also instrumental in Carolina landing Jordan Burch, maybe does some of his best work in those scenarios.
Peterson and the Gamecocks, dating all the way back to the summer, were perfectly happy to sort of fly under the radar in Barham's recruitment, feeling pretty good about their position throughout, despite the bigger name schools that were also involved here.
Due to the closed nature of Barham's recruitment, this one has been very difficult to track, but we can tell you that the Gamecocks felt cautiously optimistic throughout and from what we have heard, were cautiously optimistic heading out of the visit with Shane Beamer and Mike P earlier this week.
That optimism turned this afternoon with word that Barham was going to Maryland. Maryland's staff thought they were getting him. South Carolina thought Maryland was getting him too.
I don't know at what moment Carolina found out he was coming to Columbia, but what we do know is that the Gamecocks are thrilled to have someone of Barham's caliber added to the front seven.
Barham has been listed as a BUCK target for Peterson and the Gamecocks, but there's also a belief that he's got the skillset to potentially play any of the linebacker spots.
Watching him on film, I see a prospect with the upper level size and athleticism combination to play linebacker in the SEC. He could profile as more of middle linebacker with the versatility to line up as an EDGE rusher on passing downs or he could grow into that BUCK spot full time. He's a long athlete with long arms who can change direction and cover a lot of ground in the box. He has great closing speed with the ability to explode into the backfield and break down to make the tackle. Put simply: he's athletic enough to sort of do it all.
Regardless of his final position, let's not overlook the fact that true blue chip linebackers are somewhat rare from a national standpoint and have been extremely rare for the Gamecocks to land. It's a position that usually requires some projection since many of the prospects who would have once been lining up at a traditional LB spot in high school, are being asked to go rush the passer instead.
That means it's all the more impressive of a get for Peterson and the Gamecocks as Barham is now the highest-ranked prospect on Carolina's commit list as the No. 92 overall prospect in the country according to Rivals.
In short, Barham is the exact type of prospect the Gamecocks need to continue to add to their options in the front seven and I suspect he'll play extremely early in Columbia.
Barham will sign on Wednesday at his school and he is believed to be an early enrollee, though I need to confirm that is still the case for sure.
In the end, South Carolina outside linebackers and defensive ends coach Mike Peterson wins a big-boy recruiting battle today as the Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances four-star linebacker commits to the Gamecocks over Maryland, Penn State and Oklahoma.
Barham, by nature, is a quiet kid who conducts little to no interviews and prefers to fly under the radar, and Peterson, who was also instrumental in Carolina landing Jordan Burch, maybe does some of his best work in those scenarios.
Peterson and the Gamecocks, dating all the way back to the summer, were perfectly happy to sort of fly under the radar in Barham's recruitment, feeling pretty good about their position throughout, despite the bigger name schools that were also involved here.
Due to the closed nature of Barham's recruitment, this one has been very difficult to track, but we can tell you that the Gamecocks felt cautiously optimistic throughout and from what we have heard, were cautiously optimistic heading out of the visit with Shane Beamer and Mike P earlier this week.
That optimism turned this afternoon with word that Barham was going to Maryland. Maryland's staff thought they were getting him. South Carolina thought Maryland was getting him too.
I don't know at what moment Carolina found out he was coming to Columbia, but what we do know is that the Gamecocks are thrilled to have someone of Barham's caliber added to the front seven.
Barham has been listed as a BUCK target for Peterson and the Gamecocks, but there's also a belief that he's got the skillset to potentially play any of the linebacker spots.
Watching him on film, I see a prospect with the upper level size and athleticism combination to play linebacker in the SEC. He could profile as more of middle linebacker with the versatility to line up as an EDGE rusher on passing downs or he could grow into that BUCK spot full time. He's a long athlete with long arms who can change direction and cover a lot of ground in the box. He has great closing speed with the ability to explode into the backfield and break down to make the tackle. Put simply: he's athletic enough to sort of do it all.
Regardless of his final position, let's not overlook the fact that true blue chip linebackers are somewhat rare from a national standpoint and have been extremely rare for the Gamecocks to land. It's a position that usually requires some projection since many of the prospects who would have once been lining up at a traditional LB spot in high school, are being asked to go rush the passer instead.
That means it's all the more impressive of a get for Peterson and the Gamecocks as Barham is now the highest-ranked prospect on Carolina's commit list as the No. 92 overall prospect in the country according to Rivals.
In short, Barham is the exact type of prospect the Gamecocks need to continue to add to their options in the front seven and I suspect he'll play extremely early in Columbia.
Barham will sign on Wednesday at his school and he is believed to be an early enrollee, though I need to confirm that is still the case for sure.
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