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Wes Mitchell
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** All three of South Carolina's official visitors have now wrapped up their trips to South Carolina and one source described the weekend going "as good as it possibly could" with the three difference-making prospects.
The Gamecocks, of course, will have to wait for the process to play out with all three, but the sense is that South Carolina put its best foot forward with all three players this weekend.
** Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork four-star WR Antonio Williams arrived late Friday evening/early Saturday morning following DF's Friday night football game and stayed on campus with his family until Sunday evening.
Williams was greeted upon his arrival by wide receivers coach Justin Stepp, who has prioritized the big-play receiver from the moment Stepp arrived in Columbia. We're told that Stepp spent as much time as humanly possible with Williams and his family during the trip and that the staff wanted to make sure that Williams clearly got the message that he is the top remaining uncommitted target at the position and just how much he's wanted in Columbia and that the opportunity to play early is certainly there.
One person close to Williams told us Sunday that the visit was "going great." At this point, I feel pretty good about where South Carolina stands in his recruitment.
Keep in mind that Williams has plans to take official visits to Ole Miss and Auburn and possibly Georgia. Earlier this week, Auburn fired its wide receivers coach, so you wouldn't think they are a huge factor at this time and I still believe that Ole Miss remains the Gamecocks' biggest competition.
Also keep in mind that while Carolina has now used its official visit, there's nothing keeping Williams from making the short trip over again on an unofficial, and that the Gamecocks still have their in-person eval visit in their pocket too.
** As you probably saw earlier, we spoke with Viera (Fla.) three-star DT Jamari Lyons after his official visit and you can read the story from that interview here.
Lyons' reaction to the visit was pretty standard recruit OV reaction fare - he had a great time, Alex Huntley did an excellent job hosting him and Jimmy Lindsey has a strong relationship with him - but the big question here is, was it enough to surpass Florida?
The Gamecocks have done a lot here with Lindsey really focusing on Lyons as a top remaining interior DL target since he took his unofficial visit in the summer and had a great time.
It's the Gamecocks and Gators as the two finalists heading into his Oct. 6 announcement. Florida will likely still be tough to beat, but his announcement will be worth watching, and we will keep tracking it leading up to that.
** Baltimore (Md.) Frances four-star EDGE Jaishawn Barham arrived for his official visit on Saturday and then wrapped that up on Monday morning.
We'll continue to reiterate what we've said for some time that the Gamecocks and Mike Peterson have quietly worked their way into the mix here with Barham. They are probably stronger here than most outside of Columbia think and the Gamecocks feel good about their position. Now, getting much of anything out of Barham himself is going to be tough as he plays it about as close to the vest with the media as any other prospect we've covered.
It is worth mentioning that the Penn State Rivals site seemed to think coming off the official visit there that the Nittany Lions were the likely favorite. They also mentioned that October could be a potential decision time frame, though, again, it's hard to say with Barham.
** Looking ahead to this weekend, the Gamecocks are currently scheduled to host one official visitor in Marietta (Ga.) Walton three-star OL commitment Cason Henry.
** Several of South Carolina's coaches will hit the road this weekend to watch prospects.
Jimmy Lindsey will check out his Dillon High area where he'll watch OL target Josiah Thompson. Here's our story with Thompson from yesterday after Saturday's unofficial visit.
Mike Peterson will check out Sumter High where he'll see class of 2023 four-star DE Monteque Rhames.
Torrian Gray will be in Charlotte where he'll check out Providence Day 2023 four-star S Chris Peal.
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