Allen-Williams among top recruits to commit to USC
While attention has been focused on the season opener against North Carolina, coach Steve Spurrier and his staff are quietly putting together a nice recruiting class for the next couple of years.
With fewer than six months to go until National Signing Day, South Carolina already has seven four-star recruits committed for next season. The success of players such as Jadeveon Clowney and Marcus Lattimore has helped the Gamecocks significantly in the recruiting field.
The highlight of the class so far is four-star linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams, a Georgia native.
Entering the 2013 season, the Gamecocks will have a completely revamped linebacker core, and Allen-Williams looks to be an immediate contributor when he arrives next year.
Listed at 6 feet 1 inch tall and 214 pounds, Allen-Williams is a bit undersized for the linebacker position, but nearly every Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference school still offered him a scholarship.
The Gamecocks also have two in-state four-star tight ends committed for next season in Kalan Ritchie, of Goose Creek, and Kevin Crosby, of Bamberg.
The quality of the tight end class is a reflection of how important the coaching staff thinks the position is. Four tight ends combined for 44 catches and six touchdowns last season for South Carolina.
Four-star reciever Shaq Davidson, of Gaffney, is also set to join the Gamecocks next year. He will join sophomore Shaq Roland. According to Rivals, Davidson is the state’s second-best prospect for 2014.
Rounding out the list of four-star commits are athlete Terry Googer, of Atlanta, defensive back Wesley Green, of Lithonia, Ga., and 305-pound junior college defensive tackle Abu Lamin, of Fort Scott, Kan.
The Gamecocks currently have no quarterback commits for 2014 and only one wide receiver and one offensive line prospect.
The 2015 class is also shaping up to be another highly ranked recruiting class.
The biggest name on board so far is Bluffton defensive end Shameik Blackshear, who could end up being the No. 1 prospect in the 2015 class. USC has two other defensive end commits in Arden Key and Chauncey Rivers, who have both received offers from across the country.
USC also got a commitment from wide receiver Dexter Neal, who attends the same high school as Rivers and linebacker Sherrod Pittman, of Jacksonville, Fla.