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Shawn Smith de-commits, good luck to him.*

Yep seems like a good kid that just got out recruited. Here is Phil's article on it


By Phil Kornblut

On April 30th, USC coach Will Muschamp tweeted out a pair of “Spurs Up” alerts indicating he had accepted two commitments. That day RB Kyshaun Bryan of Ft. Lauderdale and WR Shawn Smith of Brunswick, GA acknowledged committing to the Gamecocks. Bryan still is. Smith is no longer, and apparently it wasn’t by his own decision.

“He committed and cut everybody else off,” said Smith’s coach Larry Harold. “We went back up there in July. I thought he had a good trip. They talked to the family and talked to him. We haven’t heard from South Carolina since then. He’s been trying to get in touch with them. I’ve been trying to contact them and haven’t received any phone calls back and I began to get worried. He was supposed to take an official this (past) weekend because he’s going to be an early enrollee.”

“Finally, I got a coach to call me back,” Harold continued. “I’ve seen them accept several wide receiver commits in the last couple of months. I know this game and I know how it is and once he told me they weren’t calling him back and they wouldn’t call me back I began to get real worried. Finally, they called me and basically what they did was renege on his scholarship offer and offered him a grayshirt instead which is not going to work for him. He comes from a single parent home, he has a child and he’s already done the enrollment process. He’s going to graduate early and was looking forward to enrolling at South Carolina. This has kind of left the kid stuck out to dry.”

“I have tremendous respect for coach Will Muschamp,” said Harold. “I’ve known him from his time at Florida and those coaches. But this is the side of recruiting nobody knows about. There will be comments on Twitter, people bashing him, but they don’t know the other side when you have this kid you really want but I guess somebody better they feel comes along and basically the kid is hung out to dry. Now this kid has to start the recruiting process all over again. We honored his commitment and cut everybody else that was recruiting him off.”

“I’m just really sour right now because when it comes to my kids, they come first,” the coach continued. “My whole thing was, if you had led us know in July or August that you after some guys that were a higher priority, it could have been better for him because he could have had other schools actively recruiting him. I’m not trying to bash South Carolina. The numbers game is what it is. But these coaches throw these offers out and this kid committed, put his whole life on hold, and now he’s stuck holding the bag. He had no other choice but to decommit.”

This development could have even greater effect on USC. The Gamecocks are recruiting Harold’s 2019 standout offensive lineman Warren McClendon who happens to be the first cousin of Gamecock recruiter Bryan McClendon.

“I’m not going to commit on that at this time,” Harold said. “I’m really hurt at this time at how they handled this situation with Shawn. I understand the numbers. I think two of the guys were from the state and they felt like they were first priority and I understand that, but give the kid, give me a call and let us know early on instead of waiting until October. He graduates in December and now we’re going to have to scramble to try to find another school for him to go to. He’s a great kid and he did what he was supposed to do. When he committed he literally shut everybody else off. And now he’s stuck holding the bag. My heart goes for him.”

I agree. I really don't like the way college football has re defined the word " commitment." Don't worry too much about it though. SC has been on the losing end of that redefined word too many times to count. Maybe we can change the word to "Pledge" or maybe Top- rated. Like " Georgia is my Top rated team now.

I guess many of us have made that marriage commitment, only to say good bye a few years later. Then we will all say; "The commitment has to be a two way deal" Then we are back to the same problem. It's all our fault. Where ever Shaun goes, I will be pulling for him.
 
IMO grown men who make Millions should be held to a higher standard than 17 year old high schoolers.
They ARE held to a higher standard. If they lose they get fired. If the team loses, the Players don't get fired. They are still there receiving their scholarship.
 
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They ARE held to a higher standard. If they lose they get fired. If the team loses, the Players don't get fired. They are still there receiving their scholarship.

Not according to the guy above who said because players decommit it is okay for coaches to decommit from players as well.
 
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Yep seems like a good kid that just got out recruited. Here is Phil's article on it


By Phil Kornblut

On April 30th, USC coach Will Muschamp tweeted out a pair of “Spurs Up” alerts indicating he had accepted two commitments. That day RB Kyshaun Bryan of Ft. Lauderdale and WR Shawn Smith of Brunswick, GA acknowledged committing to the Gamecocks. Bryan still is. Smith is no longer, and apparently it wasn’t by his own decision.

“He committed and cut everybody else off,” said Smith’s coach Larry Harold. “We went back up there in July. I thought he had a good trip. They talked to the family and talked to him. We haven’t heard from South Carolina since then. He’s been trying to get in touch with them. I’ve been trying to contact them and haven’t received any phone calls back and I began to get worried. He was supposed to take an official this (past) weekend because he’s going to be an early enrollee.”

“Finally, I got a coach to call me back,” Harold continued. “I’ve seen them accept several wide receiver commits in the last couple of months. I know this game and I know how it is and once he told me they weren’t calling him back and they wouldn’t call me back I began to get real worried. Finally, they called me and basically what they did was renege on his scholarship offer and offered him a grayshirt instead which is not going to work for him. He comes from a single parent home, he has a child and he’s already done the enrollment process. He’s going to graduate early and was looking forward to enrolling at South Carolina. This has kind of left the kid stuck out to dry.”

“I have tremendous respect for coach Will Muschamp,” said Harold. “I’ve known him from his time at Florida and those coaches. But this is the side of recruiting nobody knows about. There will be comments on Twitter, people bashing him, but they don’t know the other side when you have this kid you really want but I guess somebody better they feel comes along and basically the kid is hung out to dry. Now this kid has to start the recruiting process all over again. We honored his commitment and cut everybody else that was recruiting him off.”

“I’m just really sour right now because when it comes to my kids, they come first,” the coach continued. “My whole thing was, if you had led us know in July or August that you after some guys that were a higher priority, it could have been better for him because he could have had other schools actively recruiting him. I’m not trying to bash South Carolina. The numbers game is what it is. But these coaches throw these offers out and this kid committed, put his whole life on hold, and now he’s stuck holding the bag. He had no other choice but to decommit.”

This development could have even greater effect on USC. The Gamecocks are recruiting Harold’s 2019 standout offensive lineman Warren McClendon who happens to be the first cousin of Gamecock recruiter Bryan McClendon.

“I’m not going to commit on that at this time,” Harold said. “I’m really hurt at this time at how they handled this situation with Shawn. I understand the numbers. I think two of the guys were from the state and they felt like they were first priority and I understand that, but give the kid, give me a call and let us know early on instead of waiting until October. He graduates in December and now we’re going to have to scramble to try to find another school for him to go to. He’s a great kid and he did what he was supposed to do. When he committed he literally shut everybody else off. And now he’s stuck holding the bag. My heart goes for him.”
 
Not according to the guy above who said because players decommit it is okay for coaches to decommit from players as well.
That's not what you said. You indicated that "grown men" should be held to a higher standard. The fact is they are. Their jobs and livelihoods are on the line. Not so for the kids being recruited. There are no consequenses to them for their actions.
 
Yep seems like a good kid that just got out recruited. Here is Phil's article on it


By Phil Kornblut

On April 30th, USC coach Will Muschamp tweeted out a pair of “Spurs Up” alerts indicating he had accepted two commitments. That day RB Kyshaun Bryan of Ft. Lauderdale and WR Shawn Smith of Brunswick, GA acknowledged committing to the Gamecocks. Bryan still is. Smith is no longer, and apparently it wasn’t by his own decision.

“He committed and cut everybody else off,” said Smith’s coach Larry Harold. “We went back up there in July. I thought he had a good trip. They talked to the family and talked to him. We haven’t heard from South Carolina since then. He’s been trying to get in touch with them. I’ve been trying to contact them and haven’t received any phone calls back and I began to get worried. He was supposed to take an official this (past) weekend because he’s going to be an early enrollee.”

“Finally, I got a coach to call me back,” Harold continued. “I’ve seen them accept several wide receiver commits in the last couple of months. I know this game and I know how it is and once he told me they weren’t calling him back and they wouldn’t call me back I began to get real worried. Finally, they called me and basically what they did was renege on his scholarship offer and offered him a grayshirt instead which is not going to work for him. He comes from a single parent home, he has a child and he’s already done the enrollment process. He’s going to graduate early and was looking forward to enrolling at South Carolina. This has kind of left the kid stuck out to dry.”

“I have tremendous respect for coach Will Muschamp,” said Harold. “I’ve known him from his time at Florida and those coaches. But this is the side of recruiting nobody knows about. There will be comments on Twitter, people bashing him, but they don’t know the other side when you have this kid you really want but I guess somebody better they feel comes along and basically the kid is hung out to dry. Now this kid has to start the recruiting process all over again. We honored his commitment and cut everybody else that was recruiting him off.”

“I’m just really sour right now because when it comes to my kids, they come first,” the coach continued. “My whole thing was, if you had led us know in July or August that you after some guys that were a higher priority, it could have been better for him because he could have had other schools actively recruiting him. I’m not trying to bash South Carolina. The numbers game is what it is. But these coaches throw these offers out and this kid committed, put his whole life on hold, and now he’s stuck holding the bag. He had no other choice but to decommit.”

This development could have even greater effect on USC. The Gamecocks are recruiting Harold’s 2019 standout offensive lineman Warren McClendon who happens to be the first cousin of Gamecock recruiter Bryan McClendon.

“I’m not going to commit on that at this time,” Harold said. “I’m really hurt at this time at how they handled this situation with Shawn. I understand the numbers. I think two of the guys were from the state and they felt like they were first priority and I understand that, but give the kid, give me a call and let us know early on instead of waiting until October. He graduates in December and now we’re going to have to scramble to try to find another school for him to go to. He’s a great kid and he did what he was supposed to do. When he committed he literally shut everybody else off. And now he’s stuck holding the bag. My heart goes for him.”
Dear Phil,

The real reason for his decommitment is a very obscure, NCAA rule. Each team is limited to 6 Smiths. Obviously SC would be over the Smith Limit. In a secret letter to Ray Tanner, we were advised to find a few Jones to offset the Smith problem.
 
Don't care what dabo or anyone else does I want our coaches to have high character. If you expect kids to shut down recruiting when they commit you should too. I'm embarrassed for muschamp if this is true so many ways he could have went about this without making himself and our university look bad.
that's only IF you believe the kid's high school coach. And WM can't comment because of NCAA regs. I don't believe for 1 second that no one from the current SC staff returned a call that was actually made. Just doesn't happen with this staff and the current recruiting dept. Sour grapes. I hope he does well though.
 
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Pretty classy message from the young man. If this is the type of kids Boom is recruiting, we'll be alright.
 
By Phil Kornblut

On April 30th, USC coach Will Muschamp tweeted out a pair of "Spurs Up" alerts indicating he had accepted two commitments. That day RB Kyshaun Bryan of Ft. Lauderdale and WR Shawn Smith of Brunswick, GA acknowledged committing to the Gamecocks. Bryan still is. Smith is no longer, and apparently it wasn't by his own decision.

"He committed and cut everybody else off," said Smith's coach Larry Harold. "We went back up there in July. I thought he had a good trip. They talked to the family and talked to him. We haven't heard from South Carolina since then. He's been trying to get in touch with them. I've been trying to contact them and haven't received any phone calls back and I began to get worried. He was supposed to take an official this (past) weekend because he's going to be an early enrollee."

"Finally, I got a coach to call me back," Harold continued. "I've seen them accept several wide receiver commits in the last couple of months. I know this game and I know how it is and once he told me they weren't calling him back and they wouldn't call me back I began to get real worried. Finally, they called me and basically what they did was renege on his scholarship offer and offered him a grayshirt instead which is not going to work for him. He comes from a single parent home, he has a child and he's already done the enrollment process. He's going to graduate early and was looking forward to enrolling at South Carolina. This has kind of left the kid stuck out to dry."

"I have tremendous respect for coach Will Muschamp," said Harold. "I've known him from his time at Florida and those coaches. But this is the side of recruiting nobody knows about. There will be comments on Twitter, people bashing him, but they don't know the other side when you have this kid you really want but I guess somebody better they feel comes along and basically the kid is hung out to dry. Now this kid has to start the recruiting process all over again. We honored his commitment and cut everybody else that was recruiting him off."

"I'm just really sour right now because when it comes to my kids, they come first," the coach continued. "My whole thing was, if you had led us know in July or August that you after some guys that were a higher priority, it could have been better for him because he could have had other schools actively recruiting him. I'm not trying to bash South Carolina. The numbers game is what it is. But these coaches throw these offers out and this kid committed, put his whole life on hold, and now he's stuck holding the bag. He had no other choice but to decommit."

This development could have even greater effect on USC. The Gamecocks are recruiting Harold's 2019 standout offensive lineman Warren McClendon who happens to be the first cousin of Gamecock recruiter Bryan McClendon.

"I'm not going to commit on that at this time," Harold said. "I'm really hurt at this time at how they handled this situation with Shawn. I understand the numbers. I think two of the guys were from the state and they felt like they were first priority and I understand that, but give the kid, give me a call and let us know early on instead of waiting until October. He graduates in December and now we're going to have to scramble to try to find another school for him to go to. He's a great kid and he did what he was supposed to do. When he committed he literally shut everybody else off. And now he's stuck holding the bag. My heart goes for him."
 
Seems like the kid handled it better than his coach. As he said, everyone knows how this works. SC certainly didn't invent it.
 
Seems like the kid handled it better than his coach. As he said, everyone knows how this works. SC certainly didn't invent it.
Just because it was invented elsewhere, doesn't mean we have to play the game. The part I have trouble with (again, assuming all this is true) is not returning calls and avoiding the recruit because we're moving in another direction. Just not right. If you are trying to dump your girlfriend, messing around on the side and ignoring her phone calls is not the best approach.
 
Just because it was invented elsewhere, doesn't mean we have to play the game. The part I have trouble with (again, assuming all this is true) is not returning calls and avoiding the recruit because we're moving in another direction. Just not right. If you are trying to dump your girlfriend, messing around on the side and ignoring her phone calls is not the best approach.
That's his side of the story. But if true, you are correct.
 
Don't care what dabo or anyone else does I want our coaches to have high character. If you expect kids to shut down recruiting when they commit you should too. I'm embarrassed for muschamp if this is true so many ways he could have went about this without making himself and our university look bad.
Embarrassed for him? LOL! There is no coach in America that is a saint. This will all blow over. Water under the damn bridge.
 
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Embarrassed for him? LOL! There is no coach in America that is a saint. This will all blow over. Water under the damn bridge.
Agree that none are saints but most coaches would have given him a courtesy call to let him know our change of plans. You are correct, it will blow over but we may lose a chance at a highly rated recruit in the process (assuming all of this is true).
 
It will
Agree that none are saints but most coaches would have given him a courtesy call to let him know our change of plans. You are correct, it will blow over but we may lose a chance at a highly rated recruit in the process (assuming all of this is true).
I would like to know Muschamp's version. He's obviously a great recruiter and the players and parents like him. He knows how this works, so it doesn't fit that they wouldn't return a recruit's calls.
 
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I would like to know Muschamp's version. He's obviously a great recruiter and the players and parents like him. He knows how this works, so doesn't fit that they wouldn't return a recruit's calls.
Agree. Most of us (myself included) are assuming the P.K. version is correct because it's the only version we know.
 
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It will
Agree that none are saints but most coaches would have given him a courtesy call to let him know our change of plans. You are correct, it will blow over but we may lose a chance at a highly rated recruit in the process (assuming all of this is true).
You make some valid points
 
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Dabo did it to a rb out of ga a couple years ago, Spurrier did it a couple years ago to a de from ga, Jimbo did it to a de that ended up signing with us a couple years ago, Petrino did it to a sc kid and those are just a few that I can think of. Not saying it's right, just that it is common practice in cfb nowadays. All the more reason for the ncaa to have an early signing period which would help protect the players and schools

Who?
 
Dont remember the name but you can Google it. Didn't he pull the Oglesby kids offer as well?

No, I can't google it because it didn't happen and no they didn't pull Oglesby's offer. He went JUCO or Prep and then to Memphis.
 
His dream is UGA despite no offer, and said so after his commitment, good luck to him. He may want to keep that to himself if the next school he commits to is not UGA.

Like coach said a player can keep shopping and if that is the way they want to play the game so can the school or something like that.
I felt as though after he made that comment that he would either de-commit or we would renege on the offer once we had players perceived to be better. This is a part of college athletics.
 
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I felt as though after he made that comment that he would either de-commit or we would renege on the offer once we had players perceived to be better. This is a part of college athletics.
Not a part in which everyone participates (players and coaches).
 
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I felt as though after he made that comment that he would either de-commit or we would renege on the offer once we had players perceived to be better. This is a part of college athletics.

I agree 100% To me, this guy was a strong potential decommitment, recruiting articles came out how this guy a South Carolina commit preferred UGA. I sure the coach was embarrassed, he will defend his player, but if you not committed, don't commit.

It was a embarrassing interview and you kind of new it would not end well. The coach forgot to mention that incident in his interview with Phil and Phil forgot to ask, shockingly.

I think its very smart that the coaching staff, said, we understand from your comments we are not very high on your actual list, so prove to us you want to come here, your offer is now a grey shirt.

Good chance they wanted him to show his true colors, if he said ok I really want to be a Gamecock and will wait, this is my dream, something always opens late and he probably would not of been a Greyshirt because you know he wont transfer later, he is in 100%.

Greyshirt did bring the true colors, the kid decommits just as he was going to anyways.

The coach says he could not greyshirt for financial reasons? Huh? Excuses, Makes no sense, kid keeps living as he is for 6 months, and if money is an issue go get a part time job why you work out and wait for 2018 and help your family.

The coach can say his recruiting was not open, but the player made public statements indicating he was not set to be a Gamecock and preferred other schools.

So best of luck to him, it a big decision, he should not enter it with "what ifs".

The more i evaluate this whole situation the more I like what this staff did to weed this guy out since he had reservations and other preferences and made them public.
 
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I agree 100% To me, this guy was a strong potential decommitment, recruiting articles came out how this guy a South Carolina commit preferred UGA. I sure the coach was embarrassed, he will defend his palyer, but if you not committed, don't commit.

It was a embarrassing interview and you kind of new it would not end well. The coach forgot to mention that incident in his interview with Phil and Phil forgot to ask, shockingly.

I think its very smart that the coaching staff, said, we understand from your comments we are not very high on your actual list, so prove to us you want to come here, your offer is now a grey shirt.

Good chance they wanted him to show his true colors, if he said ok I really want to be a Gamecock and will wait, this is my dream, something always opens late and he probably would not of been a Greyshirt because you know he wont transfer later, he is in 100%.

Greyshirt did bring the true colors, the kid decommits just as he was going to anyways.

The coach says he could not greyshirt for financial reasons? Huh? Excuses, Makes no sense, kid keeps living as he is for 6 months, and if money is an issue go get a part time job why you work out and wait for 2018 and help your family.

The coach can say his recruiting was not open, but the player made public statements indicating he was not set to be a Gamecock and preferred other schools.

So best of luck to him, it a big decision, he should not enter it with "what ifs".

The more i evaluate this whole situation the more I like what this staff did to weed this guy out since he had reservations and other preferences and made them public.
Right now our needs are OT,DB and DL. I know it sucks for the kid but for the program you have to recruit your needs.
 
I agree 100% To me, this guy was a strong potential decommitment, recruiting articles came out how this guy a South Carolina commit preferred UGA. I sure the coach was embarrassed, he will defend his palyer, but if you not committed, don't commit.

It was a embarrassing interview and you kind of new it would not end well. The coach forgot to mention that incident in his interview with Phil and Phil forgot to ask, shockingly.

I think its very smart that the coaching staff, said, we understand from your comments we are not very high on your actual list, so prove to us you want to come here, your offer is now a grey shirt.

Good chance they wanted him to show his true colors, if he said ok I really want to be a Gamecock and will wait, this is my dream, something always opens late and he probably would not of been a Greyshirt because you know he wont transfer later, he is in 100%.

Greyshirt did bring the true colors, the kid decommits just as he was going to anyways.

The coach can say his recruiting was not open, but the player made public statements indicating he was not set to be a Gamecock and preferred other schools.

So best of luck to him, it a big decision, he should not enter it with "what ifs".

The more i evaluate this whole situation the more I like what this staff did to weed this guy out since he had reservations and other preferences and made them public.
Certainly a view through garnet and black glasses. If we thought there was a strong chance he would de-commit, we should have pulled his offer months ago rather than not returning phone calls etc. Bad look based on the article.
 
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Certainly a view through garnet and black glasses. If we thought there was a strong chance he would de-commit, we should have pulled his offer months ago rather than not returning phone calls etc. Bad look based on the article.

Well I am a actually Gamecock fan, not a poser, and posting on a Gamecock message board my thoughts, so yes I do see things through garnet and black glasses.

gamecockglasses.jpg
 
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Certainly a view through garnet and black glasses. If we thought there was a strong chance he would de-commit, we should have pulled his offer months ago rather than not returning phone calls etc. Bad look based on the article.

Vienna, and I know your not a poser as well.

So here are some more counter points to win you over:

1) The coach in the interview was lying about closing the recruiting, the player was giving public interviews about how he desired to go other placed

2) The coach in the interview said he could not grey short for financial reason, again lie, makes no sense

3) We never pulled the offer just moved it to a grey shirt, so why would they call and pull the offer? Ok maybe they should of told them sooner about the GS, but i think it was a way of measuring the players intention.

4) If the coach is stretching the truth in the interview and defending his kid, maybe our staff did have discussions and he overlooked that to, in his best interest which was his player and not our beloved school.

Bottom line that interview about UGA gave away the kids intentions, and I believe Mushamp made that 2 way street quote about commitment specifically about Shawn Smith.
 
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Vienna, and I know your not a poser as well.

So here are some more counter points to win you over:

1) The coach in the interview was lying about closing the recruiting, the player was giving public interviews about how he desired to go other placed

2) The coach in the interview said he could not grey short for financial reason, again lie, makes no sense

3) We never pulled the offer just moved it to a grey shirt, so why would they call and pull the offer? Ok maybe they should of told them sooner about the GS, but i think it was a way of measuring the players intention.

4) If the coach is stretching the truth in the interview and defending his kid, maybe our staff did have discussions and he overlooked that to, in his best interest which was his player and not our beloved school.

Bottom line that interview about UGA gave away the kids intentions, and I believe Mushamp made that 2 way street quote about commitment specifically about Shawn Smith.
If we heard our (Muschamp's) side of the story, it's very possible that I would change my tune. I just wish when something like this happens, someone was able to set the story straight. I've only heard one side of the story to this point and no one is disputing the info.
 
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