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With Mike Bobo’s addition to the Gamecock football staff, it’s natural to anticipate his reassessing of the board at the crucial quarterback position.
The staff has had 12 known verbal offers out at the position for the 2021 class, although several of those have not seemed like realistic possibilities for various reasons.
One prospect that South Carolina seemed to gain plenty of traction with last summer and into the early part of the 2019 season was Georgia’s Colten Gauthier. The three-star passer held off on what looked like could have been an early decision, and some other programs have continued throwing their hats in the ring with offers. Gauthier is still a prospect that the staff is interested in, but look for Bobo to swing by his school during the open period and to continue scouting him.
Keep an eye out on Alabama commitment Drake Maye out of Charlotte as well. Multiple sources have told us that he has remained open to hearing from other programs, and South Carolina is one that is likewise keeping an eye on him.
The biggest name in terms of star power from the ’21 class that South Carolina has been involved with is recent Oklahoma decommitment Brock Vandagriff. The five-star product out of Georgia has, as Wes Mitchell has reported, been in contact often with Mike Bobo since the latter was brought on staff.
According to sources, Georgia is going to have a major say in this one, to echo another point that Wes has made. South Carolina’s in the running and needs to get Vandagriff back on campus to extend the process.
Once the NCAA recruiting dead period ends, South Carolina’s staff will begin to welcome visitors to campus for the next three weekends. The first batch will arrive on Saturday, and here are some notes on each.
Kentucky’s Jordan Dingle is a prospect we recently profiled here on GamecockCentral.com as one that was planning to make a return to South Carolina at some point. He’s set that trip for this coming weekend.
Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville, and Purdue also appear to be substantial factors for the four-star product at this stage.
Rivals.com’s Chad Simmons noted recently that Georgia 2021 defender Trenilyas Tatum was set to hit the road soon. His first stop will be to South Caroina this weekend, and he’ll follow that up in with trips to Oklahoma and Tennessee the following two open weekends.
Another Georgia product who will begin a three-school tour this weekend is Cedrick Nicely, a Gainesville (Georgia) offensive lineman that’s a guy the South Carolina staff seems to like a lot. He’ll see Columbia this weekend and follow that up with Georgia Tech and Tennessee the next two weekends.
Atlanta area athlete Demarcko Williams will also visit South Carolina this weekend.
When Thomas Brown was hired by South Carolina last year, it was natural to wonder if he may be able to gain some traction with 2021 running back Thaddius Franklin out of south Florida.
Franklin made an early commitment to Miami when Brown was in Coral Gables, and told us at the time that he would still consider South Carolina and others when Brown made the move. He’s since backed off that pledge to the Canes and reopened the process. Franklin is set to make the trip to Columbia this weekend as well.
New tight ends coach hire Joe Cox has already put in some work in scheduling prospects for visits this month as well.
This weekend, Cox will host Tampa’s Michael Trigg as part of the group of significant visitors. The Gamecock staff offered back in November, and Cox established contact upon his hire. Trigg has over 20 major offers including Alabama, Georgia, and LSU.
Cox is also bringing in 2022 tight end Jack Nickel out of Georgia on the February 1 weekend. He was offered previously by Bobby Bentley and had established a relationship, and Nickel has since spoken with Cox and come away with a positive impression.
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