The South Carolina staff hosted a few notable official visitors over the weekend, and so we’ll begin this edition by giving the latest on where things stand with each.
Let’s begin with North Carolina’s KJ Henry, and spare our subscribers from burying the lede. We reported prior to this weekend’s official visit that we did not anticipate Henry signing with the Gamecocks, and that remains the case now that the visit has wrapped. Rivals.com’s Adam Friedman has spoken with Henry to recap the visit, and we’ll have his comments for you here on the site once the story is published. Nicole Henry, KJ’s mother, also had this to say to GamecockCentral.com regarding the trip: “Awesome. Great time and plenty of wonderful people around Muschamp.”
One of our favorite features to write every year is our lengthy, multi-part post signing day insider feature. As I’ve stated before, expect Henry to occupy some space there. For now, just know that Clemson and Virginia Tech still appear to remain the most viable options in this recruitment.
Junior college defensive back Saivion Smith was another official visit over the weekend, and is a prospect that would help fill an immediate need for playing time in the secondary next season for USC. Smith has the size, skill set, and even some SEC experience to boot. We have not caught up with him yet for any comments, and his situation is difficult to read. There are a couple of nuggets I can pass along: he apparently hit it off with defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson on the visit, and Alabama is really pushing for Smith in this class as well.
Wes Mitchell published some comments from Louisville defensive line commitment Jarrett Jackson following his official visit. It would be more than fair to put the Gamecocks in the driver’s seat for Jackson at this time, and he would be a prospect that the USC staff would be delighted to add to the fold. The coaches feel he is a talented and versatile player and excellent fit in the program, more so than several other prospects carrying a higher ranking. Jackson has mentioned the desire to take some other official visits, but it could end up being difficult to trump the Gamecocks here for the January enrollee.
Four-star defensive back Trey Dean mentioned to Rivals.com after Butch Jones’ firing that he would “likely decommit” from Tennessee. Dean, at one time, was a significant target for the Gamecocks. His situation is one we’ll keep an eye on, but for now we don’t expect things to really heat up between Dean and USC.
For years, the first Wednesday in February is a day that college football fans mark on their calendars. Some of you take off work; the ones who don’t usually get nothing accomplished in the office. This year, you want to ensure that you’re available on December 20. That, of course, marks the beginning of the NCAA’s new early signing period which runs for three days until December 22.
There are still many questions surrounding the new early signing period, particularly for programs like Florida and Tennessee undergoing a coaching change. How many prospects will end up putting pen to paper, even the ones currently committed to a school? For USC, this year’s early signing period stands to be significant. It could, in fact, be just as big (if not bigger) than the now-late signing period in February this year for USC. Two reasons why: USC has a large number of early enrollees, stretching into the double digits, this cycle. Secondly, look for the Gamecock staff to try to get as many desired summer enrollees as possible to sign in December, ensuring that both parties are locked in and ready to go.
One of the most common subscriber questions on The Insiders Forum goes as follows: if USC can close with several of its top targets in the 2018 class, what could its final Rivals.com recruiting ranking look like?
For many reasons, that’s difficult to tell here in November. The Rivals.com rankings formula counts a program’s highest-ranked 20 commitments, and 16 of the country’s top 25 programs in the current rankings have not even reached those 20 verbals. Plenty of big fish in terms of ranking are still out there to be attained, and it figures that several of those programs will end up nabbing some.
As a point of reference, it could be useful to at least see where South Carolina could fall in terms of a final point total at cycle’s end.
We recently reported three prospects we felt strongest about in terms of USC’s chances in Jaycee Horn, Rick Sandidge, and Dylan Wonnum. Especially after this weekend, that remains the case with Horn, as it does with the aforementionedJarrett Jackson. USC also is heavily in the game with in-state linebacker Channing Tindall, enough to where he could be counted as a legitimate possibility. For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll use those five prospects as a reference point. Jackson is a prospect that, with his current ranking, could more or less be thrown in the pot as a 5.5 three-star. Below is a look at how much value each of the other prospects would add to the class, should the Gamecocks land all of them.
Horn: 105 points +18 points for Rivals100 bonus
Wonnum: 120 points + 33 points for Rivals100 bonus
Sandidge: 135 points + 51 points for Rivals100 bonus
Tindall: 120 points + 26 points for Rivals100 bonus
Maxwell Iyama would be worth 116 points with his four-star marker and Rivals250 bonus. Dakereon Joyner equates to 117, while Josh Vann is 118. The other current four-star, Marlon Character, is worth 105. Kingsley Enagbare, Lavonte Valentine, Jabari Ellis, and Deshaun Fenwick draw 90 points each for their 5.7 three-star markers. 5.6 three stars are worth 75 points each, so count that for Jonathan Gipson, Ronald Jamison, Tyquan Johnson, RJ Roderick, Hank Manos, and Lamarius Benson. 60 points are awarded for 5.5 three-stars, so take your pick from the projected commitment list (say, Jackson and Wyatt Campbell).
That adds up to 1,994 points, which would currently slot USC 10th in the 2018 class here in the month of November. A disclaimer, other than remember that there will be plenty of recruiting movement in the coming weeks at other programs that will have an effect on these rankings. There’s room for adjustment in USC’s own class going forward with some guys on the board not utilized in this exercise. There could be attrition, and some rankings are sure to change upon the next update. In addition, this staff is always evaluating, always recruiting. There will be some more twists and turns as the process continues to wind. This class could end up looking different, as we are well aware, from the one used in this exercise. This just gives our subscribers a reference point, an idea, of where USC could finish.
To lend a bit of historical context from the past few cycles, that 1,994 point total would have been good for 16th in the Rivals.com team rankings in the 2017 cycle, the exact spot USC actually finished back in February. It would have been good for 20th in 2016, 21st in 2015.
Let’s begin with North Carolina’s KJ Henry, and spare our subscribers from burying the lede. We reported prior to this weekend’s official visit that we did not anticipate Henry signing with the Gamecocks, and that remains the case now that the visit has wrapped. Rivals.com’s Adam Friedman has spoken with Henry to recap the visit, and we’ll have his comments for you here on the site once the story is published. Nicole Henry, KJ’s mother, also had this to say to GamecockCentral.com regarding the trip: “Awesome. Great time and plenty of wonderful people around Muschamp.”
One of our favorite features to write every year is our lengthy, multi-part post signing day insider feature. As I’ve stated before, expect Henry to occupy some space there. For now, just know that Clemson and Virginia Tech still appear to remain the most viable options in this recruitment.
Junior college defensive back Saivion Smith was another official visit over the weekend, and is a prospect that would help fill an immediate need for playing time in the secondary next season for USC. Smith has the size, skill set, and even some SEC experience to boot. We have not caught up with him yet for any comments, and his situation is difficult to read. There are a couple of nuggets I can pass along: he apparently hit it off with defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson on the visit, and Alabama is really pushing for Smith in this class as well.
Wes Mitchell published some comments from Louisville defensive line commitment Jarrett Jackson following his official visit. It would be more than fair to put the Gamecocks in the driver’s seat for Jackson at this time, and he would be a prospect that the USC staff would be delighted to add to the fold. The coaches feel he is a talented and versatile player and excellent fit in the program, more so than several other prospects carrying a higher ranking. Jackson has mentioned the desire to take some other official visits, but it could end up being difficult to trump the Gamecocks here for the January enrollee.
Four-star defensive back Trey Dean mentioned to Rivals.com after Butch Jones’ firing that he would “likely decommit” from Tennessee. Dean, at one time, was a significant target for the Gamecocks. His situation is one we’ll keep an eye on, but for now we don’t expect things to really heat up between Dean and USC.
For years, the first Wednesday in February is a day that college football fans mark on their calendars. Some of you take off work; the ones who don’t usually get nothing accomplished in the office. This year, you want to ensure that you’re available on December 20. That, of course, marks the beginning of the NCAA’s new early signing period which runs for three days until December 22.
There are still many questions surrounding the new early signing period, particularly for programs like Florida and Tennessee undergoing a coaching change. How many prospects will end up putting pen to paper, even the ones currently committed to a school? For USC, this year’s early signing period stands to be significant. It could, in fact, be just as big (if not bigger) than the now-late signing period in February this year for USC. Two reasons why: USC has a large number of early enrollees, stretching into the double digits, this cycle. Secondly, look for the Gamecock staff to try to get as many desired summer enrollees as possible to sign in December, ensuring that both parties are locked in and ready to go.
One of the most common subscriber questions on The Insiders Forum goes as follows: if USC can close with several of its top targets in the 2018 class, what could its final Rivals.com recruiting ranking look like?
For many reasons, that’s difficult to tell here in November. The Rivals.com rankings formula counts a program’s highest-ranked 20 commitments, and 16 of the country’s top 25 programs in the current rankings have not even reached those 20 verbals. Plenty of big fish in terms of ranking are still out there to be attained, and it figures that several of those programs will end up nabbing some.
As a point of reference, it could be useful to at least see where South Carolina could fall in terms of a final point total at cycle’s end.
We recently reported three prospects we felt strongest about in terms of USC’s chances in Jaycee Horn, Rick Sandidge, and Dylan Wonnum. Especially after this weekend, that remains the case with Horn, as it does with the aforementionedJarrett Jackson. USC also is heavily in the game with in-state linebacker Channing Tindall, enough to where he could be counted as a legitimate possibility. For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll use those five prospects as a reference point. Jackson is a prospect that, with his current ranking, could more or less be thrown in the pot as a 5.5 three-star. Below is a look at how much value each of the other prospects would add to the class, should the Gamecocks land all of them.
Horn: 105 points +18 points for Rivals100 bonus
Wonnum: 120 points + 33 points for Rivals100 bonus
Sandidge: 135 points + 51 points for Rivals100 bonus
Tindall: 120 points + 26 points for Rivals100 bonus
Maxwell Iyama would be worth 116 points with his four-star marker and Rivals250 bonus. Dakereon Joyner equates to 117, while Josh Vann is 118. The other current four-star, Marlon Character, is worth 105. Kingsley Enagbare, Lavonte Valentine, Jabari Ellis, and Deshaun Fenwick draw 90 points each for their 5.7 three-star markers. 5.6 three stars are worth 75 points each, so count that for Jonathan Gipson, Ronald Jamison, Tyquan Johnson, RJ Roderick, Hank Manos, and Lamarius Benson. 60 points are awarded for 5.5 three-stars, so take your pick from the projected commitment list (say, Jackson and Wyatt Campbell).
That adds up to 1,994 points, which would currently slot USC 10th in the 2018 class here in the month of November. A disclaimer, other than remember that there will be plenty of recruiting movement in the coming weeks at other programs that will have an effect on these rankings. There’s room for adjustment in USC’s own class going forward with some guys on the board not utilized in this exercise. There could be attrition, and some rankings are sure to change upon the next update. In addition, this staff is always evaluating, always recruiting. There will be some more twists and turns as the process continues to wind. This class could end up looking different, as we are well aware, from the one used in this exercise. This just gives our subscribers a reference point, an idea, of where USC could finish.
To lend a bit of historical context from the past few cycles, that 1,994 point total would have been good for 16th in the Rivals.com team rankings in the 2017 cycle, the exact spot USC actually finished back in February. It would have been good for 20th in 2016, 21st in 2015.
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