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** With the SEC's decision to suspend all on- and off-campus recruiting efforts until at least March 30 (and possibly longer), South Carolina football, and the rest of the conference, will certainly be affected in that area. Due to the difficult-to-predict nature of the entire situation, it's not yet clear whether it will have some type of long-term effect on recruiting or it will end up being more of a minor blip but for now, we'll focus on the short-term effects with some recruits who were scheduled to visit soon. Those are worth noting because obviously those trips are now going to be postponed or canceled and because the trips at least being scheduled (even if they're not going to take place) can serve as a sign of interest in South Carolina from those particular prospects.
As far as the NCAA recruiting calendar goes, football coaches weren't allowed to visit high schools right now anyway, so the off-campus aspects of the recruiting suspension aren't relevant, but the on-campus part is. The Gamecocks have already hosted a fairly large group of prospects on campus for March 1 and March 5. March 21 was scheduled to be the next big recruiting day for the Gamecocks, but obviously that will no longer happen.
** Cedar Hill (Texas) three-star quarterback Kaidon Salter visited South Carolina for the first time on Wednesday and I believe stands as the last prospect to visit the Gamecocks prior to the recruiting ban going into effect. Salter made the visit along with his family, a trip that he told me was "great" and that he "really loved."
Salter is only ranked a mid-three-star on Rivals right now, but he's seen his recruitment take off so far this year and has the look of a big-time prospect. The Gamecocks offered Salter on May 3 as he became the first known new quarterback offer for Mike Bobo.
Here's what Rivals had to say about Salter today:
Salter now has more than 20 offers, and he’s been busy on the road seeing schools and racking up the travel miles. The three-star quarterback from Cedar Hill, Texas, has been to Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Florida State and possibly other stops in only the last few days as he gets a handle on which schools stand out most to him. Arkansas, Baylor, South Carolina and others remain under serious consideration, but with so many visits taking place, it seems like anything can still happen in his recruitment.
** Sticking with some quarterback recruiting talk, I put in my prediction for South Carolina with four-star quarterback Colten Gauthier last summer following one of his visits to campus. At the time, we were hearing Gauthier was getting close to pulling the trigger and that his visits to Carolina had been outstanding. Gauthier ultimately decided to pump the brakes on committing, then Carolina had a disappointing season, and then Dan Werner was let go, so there was a time of uncertainty there.
But after his most recent trip to South Carolina, I feel better about that prediction again. Gauthier remains someone that Carolina likes and he really hit it off with Bobo. It's still fluid, so I'm not saying it's any type of lock right now, but I think Gauthier currently stands as the most likely quarterback in the Gamecocks' 2021 class.
** As Chris Clark posted earlier this week, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG College four-star running back Lovasea Carroll has now set a South Carolina official visit for April 3, which is also the weekend of the spring game, though whether or not either of those things take place now is certainly up in the air. The Gamecocks are in the former South Carolina commit's top five schools along with Florida, Georgia, Auburn and Ohio State.
The competition is obviously tough here, but the Gamecocks remain a factor and are helped out by the fact that he has family in the Palmetto State. An interesting note is that Carroll and Gauthier are friends and like the idea of playing together at the next level.
** Alexandria (Va.) St. Stephens and St. Agnes class of 2021 four-star wide receiver Malcolm Johnson Jr. is a speedy prospect who I mentioned before would be visiting the Gamecocks this spring. That visit was set to take place next weekend as Johnson was going to see South Carolina on Friday, March 20 and then Auburn on the 21st and Alabama on the 22nd or 23rd as part of a trio of visits while he had a break from track. He's the type of prospect that is a major priority for Carolina on the offensive side of the ball due to his speed and they'll work hard to get him on campus once recruiting resumes.
** Another 2021 quarterback prospect to keep an eye on is Birmingham (Ala.) Gardendale three-star Will "Goose" Crowder, who was scheduled to visit South Carolina on March 20 but will now look to reschedule that for a later date. Crowder doesn't have an offer from the Gamecocks yet (he does have 20 offers total) but is one to keep an eye on, depending on how that position plays out.
Here are some other prospects we were tracking for planned visits in March that will have to be rescheduled:
Kernersville (N.C.) Glenn four-star DE Jahvaree Ritzie
Highland Springs (Va.) four-star DE Kelvin Gilliam Jr.
Roanoke (Ala.) Handley four-star DE Dylan Brooks
Knightdale (N.C.) three-star RB Trevion Cooley
Country Club Hills (Ill.) Hillcrest three-star RB Mar'Keise Irving
Goldsboro (N.C.) Eastern Wayne DT Nick Barrett
Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson wide receiver Sam Reynolds (commit)
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