In-state linebacker T.J. Brunson, who accumulated 13 tackles in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas on Saturday, announced a decommitment from Louisville on Monday. It was a move that was fairly predictable, and as Wes has documented previously it goes without saying that the Gamecocks are in prime position here. We anticipate Brunson making an official visit to USC sometime after the dead period ends in mid-January.
Another flip candidate has emerged for the Gamecocks in the form of Alabama defensive lineman Tyreic Martin. The 6-foot-2, 265-pounder was offered by Will Muschamp and is working on setting an official visit to Columbia either the weekend of January 15 or January 29. His official visit to Missouri, the program he’s committed to, is slated for January 22. Martin described his commitment strength as “75 or 80 percent” and he’s already quite familiar with Muschamp from his time at Auburn.
In-state defensive back Troy Pride has set his commitment date for Christmas Eve, as he announced on Twitter. While I can understand the notion that the timing of the decision to announce early would seem to coincide with a Clemson offer, a check with multiple sources indicates that an out of state pledge seems much more likely at this point. Notre Dame is one of two official visits (NC State being the other) that Pride has taken thus far and the Fighting Irish program has been pegged as the one that has traction heading into Pride’s announcement.
For USC, the fact that the new staff was behind the curve with Pride right off the bat obviously hurt here. Pride has expressed a desire to take some official visits in January but something obviously changed in recent days. He’s wanted those in-state offers, but they came later in the process. Notre Dame has long been a team eyed by Pride and reading the tea leaves, that staff saw the in-state offers and made a push to get Pride committed after keeping him warm for a while. Pride simply has not had enough time to build a relationship with South Carolina’s new staff, and the bond with Clemson is not as strong given the Tigers’ lack of relative pursuit to date.
Another in-state target remaining on the board for South Carolina is Fort Dorchester’s John Simpson. Keeping Shawn Elliott was paramount to the Gamecocks maintaining its shot with Simpson, as Carolina had slipped once again in the last several weeks. Of utmost importance will be getting Simpson on campus for an official visit. He’s taken one to LSU and has publicly stated that he’s considering Florida and Clemson for others. That would leave one slot in January, a weekend that South Carolina’s staff will surely target to get him on campus again. While Simpson will certainly make his own decision, I’m told that he is close to with recently offered receiver Diondre Champaign and was told that offer makes it more interesting potentially with Simpson.
While South Carolina’s staff is in on (or will be on in January) some highly-ranked prospects in 2016, there are some under the radar prospects on the board as well who were recently offered. I did some further checking on ECU commitment Jamil Dukes as well as in-state receiver Diondre Champaigne and was told that academics are at least part of the equation as to the relative lack of interest by some big programs. Dukes is going to be close academically and Champaign has work to do but is on a plan that apparently has him on track. Speaking to some folks that have seen Champaign, the returns are that he’s big and can run and while raw, has a substantial upside. Suffice it to say that he’s potentially a better prospect than some other receivers that have been talked about a lot more where South Carolina is concerned.
Will Muschamp has really hammered home the fact that he plans on being heavily involved in recruiting with some moves he’s made lately. It’s everything from the simple fact that he told 2017 QB Jake Bentley that he plans on personally handling his recruitment (see more here https://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1838587) to the fact that he plans on adding much more manpower to the recruiting support staff and being much more involved in the evaluation process. Of course, Muschamp also reached out to the state’s high school coaches in a gesture that was very well-received based on our feedback.
Muschamp recently placed a call to Lake Marion High’s coaching staff to let them know that 2017 athlete Davondre Robinson still had an offer from the Gamecocks’ new staff.
2017 athlete Bruce Judson Jr. picked up a Gamecock offer on Monday, and received the news from defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. USC’s staff views Judson Jr. as a guy that could play nickel on defense or slot receiver on offense. Judson Jr. told me that he’s been waiting on an offer from the Gamecocks because he has a very close relationship with Robinson. He plans on seeing USC in person after the dead period ends.
As for hoops recruiting, South Carolina has checked in on Ohio State transfer Austin Grandstaff, a former top-50 prospect out of the state of Texas.
2017 forward Ibrahim Douambia out of Florida has emerged as a target in the 2017 class for Frank Martin.
Another flip candidate has emerged for the Gamecocks in the form of Alabama defensive lineman Tyreic Martin. The 6-foot-2, 265-pounder was offered by Will Muschamp and is working on setting an official visit to Columbia either the weekend of January 15 or January 29. His official visit to Missouri, the program he’s committed to, is slated for January 22. Martin described his commitment strength as “75 or 80 percent” and he’s already quite familiar with Muschamp from his time at Auburn.
In-state defensive back Troy Pride has set his commitment date for Christmas Eve, as he announced on Twitter. While I can understand the notion that the timing of the decision to announce early would seem to coincide with a Clemson offer, a check with multiple sources indicates that an out of state pledge seems much more likely at this point. Notre Dame is one of two official visits (NC State being the other) that Pride has taken thus far and the Fighting Irish program has been pegged as the one that has traction heading into Pride’s announcement.
For USC, the fact that the new staff was behind the curve with Pride right off the bat obviously hurt here. Pride has expressed a desire to take some official visits in January but something obviously changed in recent days. He’s wanted those in-state offers, but they came later in the process. Notre Dame has long been a team eyed by Pride and reading the tea leaves, that staff saw the in-state offers and made a push to get Pride committed after keeping him warm for a while. Pride simply has not had enough time to build a relationship with South Carolina’s new staff, and the bond with Clemson is not as strong given the Tigers’ lack of relative pursuit to date.
Another in-state target remaining on the board for South Carolina is Fort Dorchester’s John Simpson. Keeping Shawn Elliott was paramount to the Gamecocks maintaining its shot with Simpson, as Carolina had slipped once again in the last several weeks. Of utmost importance will be getting Simpson on campus for an official visit. He’s taken one to LSU and has publicly stated that he’s considering Florida and Clemson for others. That would leave one slot in January, a weekend that South Carolina’s staff will surely target to get him on campus again. While Simpson will certainly make his own decision, I’m told that he is close to with recently offered receiver Diondre Champaign and was told that offer makes it more interesting potentially with Simpson.
While South Carolina’s staff is in on (or will be on in January) some highly-ranked prospects in 2016, there are some under the radar prospects on the board as well who were recently offered. I did some further checking on ECU commitment Jamil Dukes as well as in-state receiver Diondre Champaigne and was told that academics are at least part of the equation as to the relative lack of interest by some big programs. Dukes is going to be close academically and Champaign has work to do but is on a plan that apparently has him on track. Speaking to some folks that have seen Champaign, the returns are that he’s big and can run and while raw, has a substantial upside. Suffice it to say that he’s potentially a better prospect than some other receivers that have been talked about a lot more where South Carolina is concerned.
Will Muschamp has really hammered home the fact that he plans on being heavily involved in recruiting with some moves he’s made lately. It’s everything from the simple fact that he told 2017 QB Jake Bentley that he plans on personally handling his recruitment (see more here https://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1838587) to the fact that he plans on adding much more manpower to the recruiting support staff and being much more involved in the evaluation process. Of course, Muschamp also reached out to the state’s high school coaches in a gesture that was very well-received based on our feedback.
Muschamp recently placed a call to Lake Marion High’s coaching staff to let them know that 2017 athlete Davondre Robinson still had an offer from the Gamecocks’ new staff.
2017 athlete Bruce Judson Jr. picked up a Gamecock offer on Monday, and received the news from defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. USC’s staff views Judson Jr. as a guy that could play nickel on defense or slot receiver on offense. Judson Jr. told me that he’s been waiting on an offer from the Gamecocks because he has a very close relationship with Robinson. He plans on seeing USC in person after the dead period ends.
As for hoops recruiting, South Carolina has checked in on Ohio State transfer Austin Grandstaff, a former top-50 prospect out of the state of Texas.
2017 forward Ibrahim Douambia out of Florida has emerged as a target in the 2017 class for Frank Martin.
