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*** One area we wanted to touch on in this morning’s report is South Carolina’s recruiting efforts in the state of North Carolina, specifically those against Mack Brown’s UNC program.
There’s a perception we’ve seen bandied about that the Tar Heels are picking off Gamecock targets left and right from the state, but that’s not the case at this point.
The only two UNC commitments from the ’21 class that South Carolina was actively recruiting at the time of their pledges were quarterback Drake Maye, who flipped to the Heels from Alabama, and Rocky Mount DL Keeshawn Silver. Maye’s brother played college basketball for UNC and we documented over the summer that he was continuing to communicate with other schools. More on South Carolina’s own 2021 quarterback situation later in this report.
To be sure, there are some important targets remaining on the board that are mutual targets between UNC and South Carolina that will help tell the story of the ’21 class. As we have documented multiple times, it was going to be harder after last season for South Carolina to nab significant momentum in the early part of the year. Having a quality, rebound year on the field this season is of utmost importance.
South Carolina was not pushing for recent UNC commitments Kobe Paysour, Gabe Stephens, and Dontavious Nash.
A few big targets considering both programs at this point are linebacker Raneiria Dillworth, defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie, and linebacker Bryce Steele. The latter was on campus last weekend and had a strong visit, telling us that it was “great” and that he loved the practice he took in during his time in Columbia.
*** There’s another in-state name to monitor in the rising junior (2022) class, that of Pendleton’s Amir Dendy. We noted last week that he was on campus visiting for a practice, and he had some communication with the South Carolina staff while there.
Dendy rushed for close to 1,300 yards last season as a sophomore and has put up some strong numbers in combine settings; the Gamecock staff wants to get him to camp this summer. Both Bobby Bentley and Will Muschamp spoke to him during his visit last week. Wake Forest may be the first to jump in with an offer here later this spring.
*** There have been many questions as to which direction South Carolina’s quarterback recruiting efforts may go in the 2021 class. Mike Bobo is still going to see several (including some from the underclass) during the spring evaluation period, but things have once again heated up with Georgia’s Colten Gauthier. More offers and an offensive staff changeover pumped the brakes a while back on what looked like a match.
The slowdown really did not have anything to do with South Carolina’s opinion on Gauthier; his visit on Friday was an opportunity for him to meet Mike Bobo and talk in-depth. From what we have picked up from Gauthier and in other conversations, things seemed to go quite well.
*** Thanks for reading, and we appreciate you being a member of GamecockCentral.com!
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