W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
This weekend will surely mark the biggest South Carolina recruiting weekend on campus since the Gamecocks had two massive offensive visit weekends in June and certainly the biggest of the young season.
South Carolina is currently scheduled to host three official visitors this weekend and a ton of unofficial visitors as well, which we will try to keep track of throughout the week.
Here's the latest on where things stand with each official visitor.
We've probably written more about Williams in this space than anyone else in the class and with good reason - he's a priority target for the Gamecocks at a position of need. Justin Stepp, Erik Kimrey, and company have done literally everything possible to make sure Williams and his family know just how important he is to what the Gamecocks are trying to build.
Right now, it's South Carolina, Ole Miss and Auburn in the mix, of those who have offered, with Clemson still looming. Williams has official visits set to those first three schools with Carolina going this weekend obviously, Ole Miss on Oct. 22 and Auburn on Nov. 26.
Williams had originally planned to make a decision sometime following that Ole Miss visit, but with the Auburn OV tacked on there now, that could give Clemson more room to add a late offer. The NCAA is also expected to approve a rule that allows schools to replace a certain number of transfers in each recruiting cycle, which also could potentially impact Clemson's decision too.
Back to the Gamecocks, Williams may not be ready to decide yet, but this is an incredibly important weekend in his recruitment where Carolina is concerned. Stepp will no doubt make sure he has a great time this weekend and he'll receive plenty of love, but Williams is a lowkey kid, who seems far more interested in playing ball than going through the recruiting process (that's a good thing), so it's going to be important that he feels good about the future vision of the program and that he is comfortable with the team.
The Gamecocks come into this weekend chasing Florida for the big defensive tackle prospect.
And don't let the three stars by his name fool you. Lyons is a major priority target for the Gamecocks and someone they want in their class.
The Gators have long been considered the favorite here with the Gamecocks likely occupying the No. 2 spot.
The Florida media folks sort of consider it a foregone conclusion that he'll end up in the Gators' class. The Gamecocks, led by Jimmy Lindsey, have had staying power here, though, and will look to blow him away this weekend.
It will soon be decision time for Lyons who is set to announce on Oct. 6.
As we reported last month, this weekend has long been eyed by Barham as his South Carolina OV weekend, but he rarely does interviews or answers calls/texts, so it was just never directly confirmed by him until earlier this week.
Because of Barham's disinterest with the media side of the recruiting process, he's flown a bit under the radar in terms of articles but not in terms of rankings as he's considered the No. 8 outside linebacker in the country.
Barham is being recruited to play the EDGE position for the Gamecocks with Mike Peterson quietly doing great work here to keep South Carolina firmly in the mix.
Maryland has been a perceived favorite here (Barham can be one of those guys who it's tough to get a read on) but he took an official visit to Penn State this past weekend for their big win over Auburn and Penn State appears to be a factor too.
Mike P has long had the Gamecocks in this one, though, and this weekend will go a long way to determining their chances.
** Getting into some of the unofficial visits now, I really am starting to like the Gamecocks' early position with Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood class of 2023 four-star QB Dylan Lonergan.
This will be Lonergan's second visit to see the new staff after he also was in Columbia for the first day of camp in June.
Marcus Satterfield is, of course, recruiting Lonergan but Erik Kimrey is heavily involved here as well due to some previous connections there and Kimrey watched Lonergan play on Friday.
Lonergan has emerged as the priority target for the Gamecocks in this class and he's definitely listening to what they have to say, making it all the more important for Saturday night to go well.
Lonergan is the type of prospect you can build a class around.
** Sticking with quarterbacks, this will be Chapin (S.C.) class of 2024 QB Jayden Bradford's first visit to South Carolina since landing an offer from the Gamecocks a few weeks ago.
Bradford also camped with Carolina and toured the ops building this summer.
Bradford has been taking the process slowly, taking it all in at this point. He was in Charlotte for the Clemson-UGA game and was at Penn State, which has offered, this past week as well.
But make no mistake, landing an offer from the Gamecocks was a big deal and getting him in for a game, as a recruiting, is an important step.
** Lexington (Ky.) Fredrick Douglass class of 2022 four-star WR Dane Key will be back on campus Saturday and that's a sign that the Gamecocks have maintained staying power with him after he visited for an official this summer.
If you look at the receiver board, obviously Carolina has Landon Samson and Kylic Horton committed and wants to add Antonio Williams to the class too but they'd love to have one more difference-maker if possible.
Key could be that. We've continued to track Jayden Gibson from afar, but the OV to South Carolina hasn't taken place and doesn't appear to be scheduled.
ECU commit Kaleb Webb, who landed an offer Friday night, is officially one to keep an eye on too - he could be in for the Troy or Vanderbilt game from what I'm told.
But back to Key, he's been considered a Kentucky lean from the beginning but has also been willing to listen to other schools.
** Camden (S.C.) DL Xzavier McLeod is scheduled to be back in Columbia Saturday after taking multiple visits this summer.
I've been telling you since then that the Gamecocks are the favorite here. It now appears that Georgia is South Carolina's biggest competition.
McLeod visited UGA on Saturday and had a great time.
I've always been told that McLeod has acted and felt like South Carolina was home, and the relationship with Jimmy Lindsey is a big reason for that. This is a well-timed visit with UGA seriously entering the conversation now.
** A new name to keep an eye on that we'll be tracking moving forward: Columbia (S.C.) Richland Northeast class of 2025 QB Will Wilson.
Wilson is starting as a freshman at RNE and the 6-foot-2, multi-sport standout is off to a great start in his career. South Carolina and Clemson are already aware of him and he'll be at the South Carolina game on Saturday.
Wilson is the son of RNE coach Walt Wilson, who some of you will remember coached Alshon Jeffery at Calhoun County.
------------
Today’s Carolina Confidential is brought to you by Herring Insurance Services. Call, email, or PM Gamecock Central member Brent Herring today to discuss your home and auto insurance needs.
Located in Lexington but serving all of the Carolinas
803-356-0763
Brent@BrentHerring.com
@BHerring06
Last edited by a moderator:
