Headlining Thursday’s group of IMG Academy prospects whose first stop rolled through Columbia was, of course, Palmetto State native Xavier Thomas.
As expected, Thomas was joined by his mother who made the short drive over from Florence. In doing some checking, the feel is that the visit went “great.” Among the activities that Thomas and his family took part in were the prospect photo shoot, watching videos, and facilities tours, plus of course face time with many members of the Gamecock staff. I’m told that Thomas was “all smiles” during the trip.
Again, the expectation is that Thomas and family will return during his spring break, which is slated for the week of March 18.
Another highly ranked prospect that made the trip was recently offered defensive back Brendan Hadley-Riles. It appears that South Carolina was able to gain some traction here with the Las Vegas product, as he told me it was one of the best visits he’s ever been on during his recruitment. It appears that a primary reason for Hadley-Riles’ interest is defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson.
“Coach T-Rob is the man with a plan,” Hadley-Riles said. “They (Robinson and Will Muschamp) just know what they want, they have a plan, and they seem to execute it wherever they are.”
Hadley-Riles knows West Coast product Keisean Nixon, who’s signed with the Gamecocks and will enroll this summer.
As we documented, four-star quarterback Dakereon Joyner was back at USC on Thursday, just days after making a weekend trip to Columbia for the all-state football banquet and also a stop by Colonial Life Arena to take in the women’s basketball game with Will Muschamp and Kurt Roper. Joyner drove up on Thursday morning and watched USC practice, then stuck around and hung out into the night. While Joyner is expected to take other visits and will not render a decision until Father’s Day in the summer, one has to classify the Gamecocks as still being in the strongest shape.
There have been many questions about South Carolina’s quarterback situation in terms of what the staff’s plan is for potentially pursuing some immediate help there. Many fans have naturally asked about Duke graduate transfer Thomas Sirk. Certainly, that’s a situation that I anticipate the Gamecock staff continuing to look into, along with other options on the transfer wire if any exist. Sirk was at Duke for two years in which Kurt Roper was part of the staff in Durham. Sirk did some good things at Duke, but was hampered by three Achilles injuries at various points of his career. One thing to certainly keep in mind is that generally, when quarterbacks look for a destination to grad transfer, they want to play. One would be hard-pressed to find anyone that’s going to beat out Jake Bentley for a starting job in Columbia.
Doubling back to a prospect that recently visited, I believe that South Carolina has a much better chance than many on the outside are giving them with Rivals100 offensive lineman Dylan Wonnum. He was on campus last Saturday for the Gamecocks’ junior day and stayed overnight, having breakfast the following morning with the USC staff. Wonnum was joined on the trip by his family, and the fact that his older brother is a projected starter for USC at BUCK certainly is something that helps USC’s cause.
As expected, Thomas was joined by his mother who made the short drive over from Florence. In doing some checking, the feel is that the visit went “great.” Among the activities that Thomas and his family took part in were the prospect photo shoot, watching videos, and facilities tours, plus of course face time with many members of the Gamecock staff. I’m told that Thomas was “all smiles” during the trip.
Again, the expectation is that Thomas and family will return during his spring break, which is slated for the week of March 18.
Another highly ranked prospect that made the trip was recently offered defensive back Brendan Hadley-Riles. It appears that South Carolina was able to gain some traction here with the Las Vegas product, as he told me it was one of the best visits he’s ever been on during his recruitment. It appears that a primary reason for Hadley-Riles’ interest is defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson.
“Coach T-Rob is the man with a plan,” Hadley-Riles said. “They (Robinson and Will Muschamp) just know what they want, they have a plan, and they seem to execute it wherever they are.”
Hadley-Riles knows West Coast product Keisean Nixon, who’s signed with the Gamecocks and will enroll this summer.
As we documented, four-star quarterback Dakereon Joyner was back at USC on Thursday, just days after making a weekend trip to Columbia for the all-state football banquet and also a stop by Colonial Life Arena to take in the women’s basketball game with Will Muschamp and Kurt Roper. Joyner drove up on Thursday morning and watched USC practice, then stuck around and hung out into the night. While Joyner is expected to take other visits and will not render a decision until Father’s Day in the summer, one has to classify the Gamecocks as still being in the strongest shape.
There have been many questions about South Carolina’s quarterback situation in terms of what the staff’s plan is for potentially pursuing some immediate help there. Many fans have naturally asked about Duke graduate transfer Thomas Sirk. Certainly, that’s a situation that I anticipate the Gamecock staff continuing to look into, along with other options on the transfer wire if any exist. Sirk was at Duke for two years in which Kurt Roper was part of the staff in Durham. Sirk did some good things at Duke, but was hampered by three Achilles injuries at various points of his career. One thing to certainly keep in mind is that generally, when quarterbacks look for a destination to grad transfer, they want to play. One would be hard-pressed to find anyone that’s going to beat out Jake Bentley for a starting job in Columbia.
Doubling back to a prospect that recently visited, I believe that South Carolina has a much better chance than many on the outside are giving them with Rivals100 offensive lineman Dylan Wonnum. He was on campus last Saturday for the Gamecocks’ junior day and stayed overnight, having breakfast the following morning with the USC staff. Wonnum was joined on the trip by his family, and the fact that his older brother is a projected starter for USC at BUCK certainly is something that helps USC’s cause.
