Six days ago, GamecockCentral.com spoke with four-star defensive tackle Alex Huntley on a Sunday. We published an interview in which he said that he was moving his decision timeline up to at some point this summer.
The following day, he called up South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp and told him he was ready to commit. Huntley and those around him took a few days to ready an announcement; including the filming of the commitment video that Gamecock fans have seen by now.
Huntley is, even though he’s from right down the road at Hammond High, not a typical Palmetto State prospect. He moved to South Carolina from Maryland in 2014, and so he did not have a high level of familiarity with the Gamecocks program. Once Will Muschamp arrived in town, he quickly got to work on in-state prospects and learned about Huntley. There were some ties here that helped South Carolina – Huntley’s attending Hammond meant that Muschamp’s son, Jackson, played lacrosse and football with Alex. Yet Muschamp’s personal touches on the recruitment and the trust level built with prospect and family and put South Carolina in pole position for much of the process. Huntley eventually decided that his pledge to USC was inevitable, so he went ahead and got it out of the way so that he can focus on his senior season.
As for what type of player and person South Carolina is getting, Huntley is a great student and brings strong leadership capabilities. He’s Hammond’s student body president and those around the Hammond program rave about his work ethic and the way he pushes others. This will never be a guy that causes issues within a program; in fact he’s going to be a uniting force in the locker room and someone that puts positive pressure on his teammates.
Huntley’s about 285 pounds right now and still has more room to grow. He’s somewhat overshadowed given the fact that he plays on the same defensive line as five-star Jordan Burch, but still a player that many believe has a chance to be a Sunday player one day. It’s hard to find bright, determined guys who are pushing the 300-pound mark who can move like Huntley can (he also has been a standout in lacrosse at the high school level). Within USC’s multiple front defensive scheme, he would be capable of playing anything from a nose type to a three or five technique.
The following day, he called up South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp and told him he was ready to commit. Huntley and those around him took a few days to ready an announcement; including the filming of the commitment video that Gamecock fans have seen by now.
Huntley is, even though he’s from right down the road at Hammond High, not a typical Palmetto State prospect. He moved to South Carolina from Maryland in 2014, and so he did not have a high level of familiarity with the Gamecocks program. Once Will Muschamp arrived in town, he quickly got to work on in-state prospects and learned about Huntley. There were some ties here that helped South Carolina – Huntley’s attending Hammond meant that Muschamp’s son, Jackson, played lacrosse and football with Alex. Yet Muschamp’s personal touches on the recruitment and the trust level built with prospect and family and put South Carolina in pole position for much of the process. Huntley eventually decided that his pledge to USC was inevitable, so he went ahead and got it out of the way so that he can focus on his senior season.
As for what type of player and person South Carolina is getting, Huntley is a great student and brings strong leadership capabilities. He’s Hammond’s student body president and those around the Hammond program rave about his work ethic and the way he pushes others. This will never be a guy that causes issues within a program; in fact he’s going to be a uniting force in the locker room and someone that puts positive pressure on his teammates.
Huntley’s about 285 pounds right now and still has more room to grow. He’s somewhat overshadowed given the fact that he plays on the same defensive line as five-star Jordan Burch, but still a player that many believe has a chance to be a Sunday player one day. It’s hard to find bright, determined guys who are pushing the 300-pound mark who can move like Huntley can (he also has been a standout in lacrosse at the high school level). Within USC’s multiple front defensive scheme, he would be capable of playing anything from a nose type to a three or five technique.
