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Wes Mitchell
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** In talking to a couple of sources over the weekend for the latest on graduate transfer running back Tavien Feaster, I would still call South Carolina the favorite to land the former Clemson back. If you're looking for another school to keep an eye on, then it appears that Virginia Tech has emerged as possibly South Carolina's biggest competition here. The Hokies have a need at the running back position and obviously an easier road, from a scheduling position, than the Gamecocks.
But as we've said previously, with South Carolina, the chance to showcase his talents against top competition, and not go too far from home is intriguing to Feaster who has called this a "business decision." I continue to hear that the rivalry aspect here isn't going to be much of a factor at all when it's time to decide. Feaster hopes to have a decision made by the middle of the summer.
** I once again had the chance to watch South Carolina quarterback commit Luke Doty throw at the annual EPT Showcase at Irmo High on Friday and Doty continues to shine with his ability to make all the throws and deliver a catchable football. Doty's leadership is always apparent at these events and as he's gotten older it's been fun to see the way the other quarterbacks at these functions look up to him and pay attention to him.
Doty is expected to learn in the next week or so if he's been selected as one of the Elite 11 finalists which would allow him the opportunity to go compete at The Opening Finals in Frisco, Texas from June 28-30. Doty is still scheduled to take his official visit to South Carolina on May 31 and to throw at a Carolina camp in June.
** A few other South Carolina targets received their invites to The Opening Finals over the weekend with four-star RB Tank Bigsby, four-star LB Reggie Grimes and four-star DB Keshawn Lawrence turning in big performances at the Nashville Regional event. All three prospects are set to take official visits to South Carolina in the month of June.
** As I'm sure you know by now, the May 31 weekend is set to be a huge official visit weekend for the Gamecocks as they'll look to get a mix of committed prospects as well as major uncommitted targets on campus at the same time.
Here's a list of the guys currently scheduled up and a few other notes on that weekend below:
- I'm still trying to confirm some other guys, but look for South Carolina to try and get many of its top targets on campus this same weekend, even if some are just for unofficial visits.
Some other possibilities are, of course, Jordan Burch, Alex Huntley, Tonka Hemingway and Desmond Tisdol. I asked someone close to Hemingway Sunday night if they were going to visit South Carolina that weekend and was told they weren't sure yet. I do know he plans to take an official to SC this summer.
- Running back target Jahmyr Gibbs is also definitely planning to take an official visit to South Carolina at some point, likely this summer, but he has a conflict during the May 31 weekend and won't be able to make it in then.
- OL target and former commitment Javion Cohen has been scheduled to take an unofficial visit to South Carolina that weekend, but now has his Florida official set for June 1, so it doesn't seem likely that he'd have room for both that weekend. Cohen still plans to work out for Carolina's coaches at camp this summer.
** Top in-state prospect and five-star defensive end Jordan Burch followed through with his plans to visit Georgia for its scavenger hunt event over the weekend and if you want to follow the visits here, clearly Georgia is at least somewhat of a factor as they've been able to get him on campus a couple of times recently. In fact, some believe that the Bulldogs may be South Carolina's biggest competition here, rather than Clemson, though as we've said time and time again, there's very little information that actually comes out of Burch's camp, so there's a lot of guessing here.
While we have always framed this as an in-state battle (that seems to be one thing most people could agree on here), the proximity of UGA and the state of that program, means we can't count the Bulldogs out. As for any discussion about whether Burch is still a take for Clemson with its success landing defensive ends in this class, I'm told that he is definitely still a take for the Tigers. As I said above, South Carolina will try to get Burch back on campus soon.
** With the addition of Tennessee Tech graduate transfer big man Micaiah Henry it's hard to see a better scenario for the Gamecocks to fill that final scholarship.
Instant impact big men in the grad transfer market are difficult to find, but in Henry the Gamecocks fill a huge need of a more athletic and stronger player inside. The hope is that Henry is someone who can come in and rebound, block some shots and be a solid presence inside.
The 6-foot-9, 235-pounder played in 31 games last season, averaging 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
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South Carolina football and recruiting insiders Chris Clark and Wes Mitchell join host Pearson Fowler on Another Carolina Podcast to discuss Tavien Feaster and more.
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