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Wes Mitchell
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** As Shane Beamer takes over the South Carolina football program, roster management is going to be a key phrase for the rest of this offseason and beyond. Part of our job is to try and set the expectations so that you, the Carolina fan, knows what to expect, and I'm not anticipating a huge early signing day next Wednesday with just six days left until then and that's primarily by design based on where everything is right now and with a short turnaround until that date.
South Carolina is not going to take players just to take them. They'll be deliberate with how they spend their scholarships and having some flexibility with the roster numbers is going to be key moving forward.
Right now the Gamecocks sit at 10 commitments from the 2021 class and then an additional four counters from the last class who count forward to this one, so you can see the numbers start to get tight very quickly as far as the 25 initial counter scholarships per year.
Obviously, by the results on the field, there are some positions that are going to need some immediate help and Carolina will look to go find that with junior college prospects and transfers and the last thing they'll want to do is tie up too many scholarships with a week of recruiting and not be able to take someone who can really help in February or even later with the portal.
You're already seeing this approach play out before your eyes with the offers that have seen sent out and you can already probably tell what the focus is right now - wide receiver, linebacker, seconday and pass-rush with some room for "best available" in there if there someone out there who's just simply too good to turn down.
Taking JUCOs and transfers may not be the approach South Carolina necessarily takes in Year 3 or 4 down the road, but with the needs on the current roster for players who can quickly fill holes, it's a smart approach in order to try and make the team more competitive in Year 1.
With the NCAA giving everyone a season back of eligibility from this year, it also means many of those prospects will have an extra year of eligibility compared to what a JUCO or transfer would usually have. Essentially the approach is not to burn too many scholarships in a week, to make sure there's room for instant impacts in the coming months while shaking the trees for top high school guys for February too. It's a smart and calculated approach, but one you should all be aware of heading into next week, when you see a class that isn't ranked very high nationally.
** As I mentioned in a quick post yesterday, one of Beamer's first actions was to reach out and get in touch with all of the committed prospects and at this point he's now spoken with all of them.
Despite being back in Oklahoma, there's already been a lot of time put into recruiting on his part as he's been on the phone and on Facetime with kids trying to at least make sure they know they're wanted and that they've still got a spot.
We're told those conversations have gone well and that for the most part the committed prospects who have hung in there and stayed committed still remain pretty solid in their commitments as a general statement with some already confirming with us that they're 100 percent locked in (more on that below) and ready to sign.
** Beamer and South Carolina quarterback commit Colten Gauthier had a great conversation earlier this week and Gauthier is 100 percent locked in with the Gamecocks and will sign at 7:30 on Wednesday morning.
Gauthier is actually out in California right now working out with quarterback trainer (and former Vandy QB) Austyn Carta-Samuels, but I spoke with Gauthier's father who told me they're fully committed and putting all their faith in Beamer.
Gauthier has never wavered on his commitment and has actually put in the leg work to try and convince some of the other guys to stay committed after the coaching change. There were certainly schools that tried as Florida State, Louisville and Kansas all reached out to show interest but were told that Gauthier is sticking.
Gauthier got introduced to the business side of the game early on in his recruitment when several schools who offered him saw changes at the offensive coordinator level. Gauthier has some extemely lofty and respectable goals for his time at USC on the field, but the actual decision was made with a thought process of, where could I go and still be happy if football was taken away from me, and South Carolina was it.
Beamer's message to him was that he loves Gauthier's game, that he loves his ceiling as a player and that he appreciated his competitive nature and his commitment to the program in trying to keep the guys together through the change.
Gauthier plans to sign on Wednesday morning and will has a tentative report date to Carolina of Jan. 5 as an early enrollee.
** We're expecting most of South Carolina's current commits to sign next Wednesday, though there are a few exceptions and even those could potentially shift between now and the early signing period. From the info I've gathered, commitments O'Mega Blake, T.J. Sanders and JonDarius Morgan are the three who are looking at waiting until February to sign.
I wouldn't look at that as even being any type of sign of weakness in their commitments levels - they've obviously stayed committed to this point - but more about just waiting to see what happens with the staff and doing due diligence.
** I spoke to O'Mega Blake yesterday and will have a full story up later today. As I said above, Blake currently isn't planning to sign until February but he remains committed to South Carolina and I don't really get the sense he's even that interested in looking around right now.
Some schools have reached out but he didn't go into much detail on that and sort of brushed it off saying that he's actually just trying to focus on his academics right now. Independently, we were told that Louisville, Tennessee, North Carolina and Mississippi State have reached out.
Blake spoke to Beamer earlier this week and described it as as great conversation. His head coach is, of course, DeVonte Holloman who had nothing but great things to say about Beamer and told Blake that he's in good hands. Blake wasn't told anything about the staff but his impression was that Beamer definitely wants to emulate the Oklahoma offensive scheme and that idea excites him.
** If you missed my article with former Gamecocks LB commit Bryce Steele, I think it's worth a read as he's one of the more mature, well-spoken kids I've gotten to know in this class.
Reaching out to Steele was an early priority for Beamer and he's someone the staff definitely still wants as he fits one of those primary needs we talked about above - linebacker - and more importantly, he's an LB with plus athleticism who can cover, something that I believe will be a focus moving forward.
While the first conversation with a fairly short one meant to judge interest, Steele told Beamer that he's committed to Boston College but that he's at least willing to listen to the Gamecocks' new coach between now and next Wednesday before he signs.
Steele has a strong relationship with Boston College's head coach from when he was the DC at Ohio State and was recruiting him there and relationships are big with him. That could make it difficult but one thing Steele especially has his eyes on is who Carolina hires as a defensive coordinator.
If the Gamecocks make a hire between now and Wednesday, and it's someone Steele is familiar with and likes, then I think that's a scenario where he could at least strongly consider flipping back to Carolina. Whether or not Rod Wilson is on staff is another factor to watch here.
While we haven't been given a timetable for a DC hire, there are obviously a lot of teams that will be finishing their seasons on Saturday and we can't rule out that a hire could be made before Wednesday.
** We don't have a ton to add right now on Gunner Stockton other than to say that he's talked with Beamer and that he's previously expressed after Muschamp was let go that he's not talking recruiting right now and is focused on the playoffs.
That said, we can tell you that Beamer and Stockton did know each other already and that Beamer did have recruiting contact with Stockton for Oklahoma before he pledged to the Gamecocks, so that early contact could be beneficial in building the relationship now.
** As I mentioned above, you can sort of see South Carolina's recruiting approach play out already just from the offers that have gone out since Beamer took over, both from a positional standpoint and the fact that two are JUCOs.
Earlier this week, South Carolina offered Georgia Military College JUCO DB Isaiah Norris, who is currently committed to Middle Tennessee State. Norris, an Anderson native who played at T.L. Hanna, has also landed offers from Tennessee and Washington State this month.
Norris is a great athlete who has emerged late and is probably well undervalued with his current two-star ranking. The Gamecocks obviously have Marcellas Dial committed (he's 100 percent and signing Wednesday) but some believe Norris could be the best DB on that team.
As for Norris' recruitment, put it this way, with Dial already committed, we're liking the Gamecocks' chances of adding another GMC standout from the Palmetto State.
** Staying right there at GMC, Byron Young has emerged as arguably the top JUCO pass-rusher in the southeast and Beamer has now been in touch with him as well.
Young, who was offered by the prior staff and is also from South Carolina, has accumulated a huge offer list with multiple SECs and others involved.
Earlier this week, Young named a top four of Auburn, Tennessee, Florida State and Missouri, and the sense has been that Auburn has been the favorite.
I don't feel as strongly as I do about Carolina's chances with Norris, but I can tell you that South Carolina still has Young's attention and is at least a dark horse in this race if not a downright contender with Auburn now that a head coach is in place.
** South Carolina will take a big swing at landing Mississippi JUCO WR Quamon Davis who had a huge year for Itawamba Community College catching 34 passes for 583 yards and 7 touchdowns, which led the MACCC conference in receptions, was second in yards, and tied for the lead in TDs.
Chris spoke with Davis earlier this week, and he said that he liked his conversation with Beamer. Asked what he knew about the Gamecocks program, he mentioned the SEC affiliation.
"They see me as a playmaker," Davis said" Get the ball in my hands and make things happen."
Davis is projected as a January enrollee and has 3 years to play; he said wants to decide within the next couple weeks.
Florida State also offered on Monday, shortly after South Carolina did, so there are some signs that Davis' recruitment is about to take off. He's a huge target for Carolina and someone that fits that playmaker mold at receiver that they need.
** Many of you have been curious about the transfer portal and which prospects the Gamecocks may go after that. One prospect who we're tracking early is Old Dominion graduate transfer pass-rusher Keion White. White is a 6-foot-4, 267-pound defensive end who is originally from Garner, N.C.
White signed with OD as a tight end but moved to DE for the 2019 season and only responded by finishing fourth in Conference USA and tied for 10th in FBS with 19 tackles for loss, tied ODU single-season record with 19 tackles for loss, finished fourth on team with 62 tackles, and tied for team lead with 3.5 sacks.
White has actually turned into one of the more highly recruited transfer portal recruits out there right now with a ton of schools jumping in on him, but the Gamecocks will take a shot here and have playing time plus proximity to home plus the SEC as recruiting points they can use.
N.C. State and Georgia Tech appear to be the schools after him with the most buzz at this time.
We will have plenty more in the coming days on Beamer's early recruiting efforts but hope you have enjoyed this rundown of where things are at this point. We appreciate you being a subscriber to the site and want to thank all of you - long term readers and newbies - for being a member here! Please tell your friends about Gamecock Central or give the gift of Gamecock Central this holiday season!
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