We are still waiting to hear back from prospects or other sources on several of the Gamecocks’ 2017 class members’ enrollment dates, but here is what we know so far in terms of report dates.
April 26:
Javon Kinlaw
May 24
Davonne Bowen
Brad Johnson
Keisean Nixon
Will Register
Tavyn Jackson
Jay Urich
Jamyest Williams
May 30
Chad Terrell
Enrolled in January
Summie Carlay
Jaylin Dickerson
OrTre Smith
I haven’t confirmed a date yet, but I’ve been told that the plan has been for Louisville graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins to make a visit to South Carolina at some point. He’s been to Tennessee already, and Mississippi State remains a significant factor for him after Wiggins won an appeal to be able to consider the Bulldogs upon his release. As Wes Mitchell noted recently, Wiggins nearly flipped to the Gamecocks from Georgia during his high school recruitment. Mississippi State has Wiggins’ former position coach and defensive coordinator from Louisville on staff, so there are significant ties there.
One graduate transfer offensive tackle that the Gamecocks looked into was Cal’s Aaron Cochran, a talented player for which the competition was significant. I don’t believe there was much traction gained there ultimately; Cochran announced this week that he will be playing his final season at Oklahoma State.
Two names I’ve consistently heard for remaining priorities up front in the 2018 cycle are Georgia’s Warren Ericson and Dylan Wonnum. South Carolina is heavily in the mix for both prospects, and interestingly both have brothers who are student-athletes at USC – Wonnum’s brother DJ on the football team and Ericson’s brother Peyton on the men’s soccer team. Both are fairly quiet in terms of their conversations with media, so it’s tough to get a read on them. I’ve heard Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and South Carolina the most with Ericson and with Wonnum, South Carolina and other SEC programs. From what I gather, both are legitimate possibilities and would give USC quite a good haul from high school if Eric Wolford and staff could pull them.
It’s also quite possible that USC tries to add a junior college guy or two to the class along the offensive line. There are needs all around on the roster of course, so numbers could come into play at a certain point. I broke down a few candidates from junior college in a recent Insider Report. Another to watch – a prospect that’s more of a guard, is Damien Lewis out of Northwest Mississippi. He’s a prospect that Eric Wolford will check on during the spring evaluation period. Kentucky, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Memphis, and Louisville are also in on him.
Atlanta’s Chris Smith has a big offer list spanning a host of Power 5 programs, and South Carolina is a program we continue to hear he holds in high regard. He visited Columbia again at the end of March and had a strong follow-up trip to get a more in-depth look at the campus and face time with the coaching staff. Smith feels he’s been prioritized by the USC staff and has a good relationship with defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. He’s a name we’re keeping a close eye on at cornerback.
Another Georgia product, linebacker Ernest Jones, is a prospect we feel South Carolina has an excellent shot with, and someone who’s a candidate to be committed somewhere before the summer is over. He’s a prospect that may remind of Sherrod Greene out of the 2017 cycle in that he may not have a ton of big-name offers (he does have some such as LSU, etc.), but is a prospect that the staff is higher on than some other more recognizable names at the position.
Ohio linebacker Xavier Peters has continued to gain traction on the recruiting trail, and he was offered earlier this year by the Gamecock staff. He recently told GamecockCentral.com that he plans on making a visit to Columbia at some point to check out the program. Alabama, Georgia, and LSU all recently dispensed offers to Peters, too.
April 26:
Javon Kinlaw
May 24
Davonne Bowen
Brad Johnson
Keisean Nixon
Will Register
Tavyn Jackson
Jay Urich
Jamyest Williams
May 30
Chad Terrell
Enrolled in January
Summie Carlay
Jaylin Dickerson
OrTre Smith
I haven’t confirmed a date yet, but I’ve been told that the plan has been for Louisville graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins to make a visit to South Carolina at some point. He’s been to Tennessee already, and Mississippi State remains a significant factor for him after Wiggins won an appeal to be able to consider the Bulldogs upon his release. As Wes Mitchell noted recently, Wiggins nearly flipped to the Gamecocks from Georgia during his high school recruitment. Mississippi State has Wiggins’ former position coach and defensive coordinator from Louisville on staff, so there are significant ties there.
One graduate transfer offensive tackle that the Gamecocks looked into was Cal’s Aaron Cochran, a talented player for which the competition was significant. I don’t believe there was much traction gained there ultimately; Cochran announced this week that he will be playing his final season at Oklahoma State.
Two names I’ve consistently heard for remaining priorities up front in the 2018 cycle are Georgia’s Warren Ericson and Dylan Wonnum. South Carolina is heavily in the mix for both prospects, and interestingly both have brothers who are student-athletes at USC – Wonnum’s brother DJ on the football team and Ericson’s brother Peyton on the men’s soccer team. Both are fairly quiet in terms of their conversations with media, so it’s tough to get a read on them. I’ve heard Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and South Carolina the most with Ericson and with Wonnum, South Carolina and other SEC programs. From what I gather, both are legitimate possibilities and would give USC quite a good haul from high school if Eric Wolford and staff could pull them.
It’s also quite possible that USC tries to add a junior college guy or two to the class along the offensive line. There are needs all around on the roster of course, so numbers could come into play at a certain point. I broke down a few candidates from junior college in a recent Insider Report. Another to watch – a prospect that’s more of a guard, is Damien Lewis out of Northwest Mississippi. He’s a prospect that Eric Wolford will check on during the spring evaluation period. Kentucky, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Memphis, and Louisville are also in on him.
Atlanta’s Chris Smith has a big offer list spanning a host of Power 5 programs, and South Carolina is a program we continue to hear he holds in high regard. He visited Columbia again at the end of March and had a strong follow-up trip to get a more in-depth look at the campus and face time with the coaching staff. Smith feels he’s been prioritized by the USC staff and has a good relationship with defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. He’s a name we’re keeping a close eye on at cornerback.
Another Georgia product, linebacker Ernest Jones, is a prospect we feel South Carolina has an excellent shot with, and someone who’s a candidate to be committed somewhere before the summer is over. He’s a prospect that may remind of Sherrod Greene out of the 2017 cycle in that he may not have a ton of big-name offers (he does have some such as LSU, etc.), but is a prospect that the staff is higher on than some other more recognizable names at the position.
Ohio linebacker Xavier Peters has continued to gain traction on the recruiting trail, and he was offered earlier this year by the Gamecock staff. He recently told GamecockCentral.com that he plans on making a visit to Columbia at some point to check out the program. Alabama, Georgia, and LSU all recently dispensed offers to Peters, too.
