South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp was in attendance for the entirety of Rock Hill (SC) South Pointe’s state championship victory at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon, watching the team take down Hartsville in convincing fashion. There is an NCAA-mandated dead period in effect right now, but college coaches were granted an exception for the South Carolina state title games due to the movement from weather several weeks ago.
While South Pointe has a pair of 2018 prospects that have carried Gamecock verbal offers in rush linebacker Eli Adams and WR/DB Steven Gilmore (who had three touchdown receptions in the game), the headliner was athlete Derion Kendrick. The high school quarterback, who will transition to receiver or defensive back in college, threw for over 250 yards and five touchdowns during the game and also had some nice runs and scrambles. Several Gamecock assistants were milling around during the day, with special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler taking a close look at 2018 kicker BT Potter during the game.
Muschamp was situated right on the edge of the South Pointe sideline box for the entire game, leaving only for halftime. Clemson assistant Jeff Scott, Kendrick’s lead recruiter for the Tigers, was also in attendance for the game.
It’s been well documented here that South Carolina was working from behind already on several prospects when Muschamp was hired in Columbia last December. Five-star defensive end Xavier Thomas was certainly an example of one such prospect, though Muschamp and his staff quickly made up ground to become a major contender. Kendrick could be classified as another that would fall into that category. From what we hear, it’s been tougher to make headway with Kendrick, with Clemson representing the favorite at this juncture. South Carolina will continue to work the situation; it will be difficult to land Kendrick but it’s not a lead that I believe to be completely insurmountable. One factor that’s weighed into the situation is that Kendrick himself does not hit the road often to take college visits; the only game he attended this season was the Clemson/USC game in the Upstate.
Georgia defensive back Yusuf Corker remains a target at defensive back, and he is down to four programs as his finalists: Kentucky, Michigan State, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In doing some checking behind the scenes, everyone I’ve spoken with believes this one will ultimately come down to the Gamecocks and Volunteers. Interestingly, Corker has only taken two of his allotted five official visits, and those went to Kentucky and Michigan State. There’s a good chance he’ll opt to take a couple more trips in the month of January once the contact period reopens. Corker plans on announcing his decision on the afternoon of December 26 (his birthday), and there are legitimate reasons to believe both South Carolina and Tennessee feel good about the situation. We’ll see what transpires over the next few days as the decision approaches. There have been some questions about whether or not Corker is a take for the Gamecocks at this point. Yes, he is. We'll be tracking this one right up until Corker's decision day, and will bring any further updates as we can.
Another prospect that USC is battling Tennessee on is North Carolina’s Matthew Butler, who just wrapped up a week at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas by helping his team to a win over the South Carolina squad. I do know that some South Carolina commitments worked Butler during the week on behalf of the Gamecocks. Butler did give some positive feedback about South Carolina, but he’s someone that’s difficult to read for prospects and college coaches alike with his unique personality. Butler has long had eyes for the SEC, although he’s had home-state programs Duke and NC State in the mix as well. Prior to Shrine Bowl week, Butler had college coaches rolling through his school for in-person meetings and then he planned on taking Shrine Bowl week to mull over his choices prior to a December 21 decision date. Because of how difficult he is to read, there was some conflicting information behind the scenes last week about which programs were in or out for Butler. I do know that he’s continued talking about South Carolina over the past couple of weeks, and the Gamecocks appear to be in the mix with the decision just a few days away. Beyond that, everyone I’ve spoken with is unsure as to what he’ll do as of this writing.
Speaking of the Shrine Bowl, in talking to several sources I was told that high school coaches walked away from that week very impressed with the performance of Pendleton LB/DE Brad Johnson. Even while inside Williams-Brice watching South Pointe, I was receiving messages raving about how Johnson looked in the game itself and during the week of practice.
South Carolina still plans on bringing in the Upstate defender for an official visit next month on January 13, and Virginia Tech is considered the other major contender for him. Tennessee has an official visit on the books for January 20, but there are some questions about whether or not that will end up happening.
USC commitment Jaylin Dickerson, as we documented, did not participate in the Shrine Bowl due to a hip fracture he sustained late in the season. Apparently that injury is not as significant as it sounds, because Dickerson says he’ll be cleared to go upon his arrival in Columbia. He’s slated to arrive on January 3 and will begin winter workouts at that time.
While South Pointe has a pair of 2018 prospects that have carried Gamecock verbal offers in rush linebacker Eli Adams and WR/DB Steven Gilmore (who had three touchdown receptions in the game), the headliner was athlete Derion Kendrick. The high school quarterback, who will transition to receiver or defensive back in college, threw for over 250 yards and five touchdowns during the game and also had some nice runs and scrambles. Several Gamecock assistants were milling around during the day, with special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler taking a close look at 2018 kicker BT Potter during the game.
Muschamp was situated right on the edge of the South Pointe sideline box for the entire game, leaving only for halftime. Clemson assistant Jeff Scott, Kendrick’s lead recruiter for the Tigers, was also in attendance for the game.
It’s been well documented here that South Carolina was working from behind already on several prospects when Muschamp was hired in Columbia last December. Five-star defensive end Xavier Thomas was certainly an example of one such prospect, though Muschamp and his staff quickly made up ground to become a major contender. Kendrick could be classified as another that would fall into that category. From what we hear, it’s been tougher to make headway with Kendrick, with Clemson representing the favorite at this juncture. South Carolina will continue to work the situation; it will be difficult to land Kendrick but it’s not a lead that I believe to be completely insurmountable. One factor that’s weighed into the situation is that Kendrick himself does not hit the road often to take college visits; the only game he attended this season was the Clemson/USC game in the Upstate.
Georgia defensive back Yusuf Corker remains a target at defensive back, and he is down to four programs as his finalists: Kentucky, Michigan State, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In doing some checking behind the scenes, everyone I’ve spoken with believes this one will ultimately come down to the Gamecocks and Volunteers. Interestingly, Corker has only taken two of his allotted five official visits, and those went to Kentucky and Michigan State. There’s a good chance he’ll opt to take a couple more trips in the month of January once the contact period reopens. Corker plans on announcing his decision on the afternoon of December 26 (his birthday), and there are legitimate reasons to believe both South Carolina and Tennessee feel good about the situation. We’ll see what transpires over the next few days as the decision approaches. There have been some questions about whether or not Corker is a take for the Gamecocks at this point. Yes, he is. We'll be tracking this one right up until Corker's decision day, and will bring any further updates as we can.
Another prospect that USC is battling Tennessee on is North Carolina’s Matthew Butler, who just wrapped up a week at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas by helping his team to a win over the South Carolina squad. I do know that some South Carolina commitments worked Butler during the week on behalf of the Gamecocks. Butler did give some positive feedback about South Carolina, but he’s someone that’s difficult to read for prospects and college coaches alike with his unique personality. Butler has long had eyes for the SEC, although he’s had home-state programs Duke and NC State in the mix as well. Prior to Shrine Bowl week, Butler had college coaches rolling through his school for in-person meetings and then he planned on taking Shrine Bowl week to mull over his choices prior to a December 21 decision date. Because of how difficult he is to read, there was some conflicting information behind the scenes last week about which programs were in or out for Butler. I do know that he’s continued talking about South Carolina over the past couple of weeks, and the Gamecocks appear to be in the mix with the decision just a few days away. Beyond that, everyone I’ve spoken with is unsure as to what he’ll do as of this writing.
Speaking of the Shrine Bowl, in talking to several sources I was told that high school coaches walked away from that week very impressed with the performance of Pendleton LB/DE Brad Johnson. Even while inside Williams-Brice watching South Pointe, I was receiving messages raving about how Johnson looked in the game itself and during the week of practice.
South Carolina still plans on bringing in the Upstate defender for an official visit next month on January 13, and Virginia Tech is considered the other major contender for him. Tennessee has an official visit on the books for January 20, but there are some questions about whether or not that will end up happening.
USC commitment Jaylin Dickerson, as we documented, did not participate in the Shrine Bowl due to a hip fracture he sustained late in the season. Apparently that injury is not as significant as it sounds, because Dickerson says he’ll be cleared to go upon his arrival in Columbia. He’s slated to arrive on January 3 and will begin winter workouts at that time.
