The recruitment aspect of college football has become a top priority for schools as they compete for attention from athletes through branding and social media.
As competition increases, the Gamecocks have taken risks and stepped up in their recruiting game to grab top recruits' attention. That philosophy has garnered the attention of analysts like former Florida standout Tim Tebow, now with the SEC Network
“The game's changing, it’s not necessarily the same as even when I played,” he said. “It’s a different recruiting game. It’s a different battle.”
For South Carolina, the recruitment process has been taken to a new level with the help of Associate Athletics Director for New and Creative Media Justin King.
From game days to social media, King has helped to guide and create a platform for South Carolina to promote their athletics, especially when it comes to football.
“One of the most valuable guys here is Justin King, their video guy, 'cause he is putting together all these cool videos recruits watch and they love it,” Tebow said. “So it’s a different game as far as getting recruits and what they like and I think that’s a huge part of it.”
King graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2010 and was named to his position in early 2017. Since his hire, he has led his team to create high-energy videos that play throughout football games at Williams-Brice Stadium.
On top of the hype videos for football, King and his team have established what they describe as engaging and appealing social media pages on Twitter and Instagram.
“Year one was good, but we’re just getting started,” King said on his Twitter page.
In order to reach potential players, videos showcasing game days and behind-the-scenes looks have been key to giving followers a glimpse of what South Carolina athletics entails.
Head Coach Will Muschamp said he has confidence in King and his teams' abilities and believes that they have done a "great job of marketing our brand."
SEC Network analyst Laura Rutledge credited the program as a whole with working to create a cohesive message that's appealing to big-name recruits and fans alike.
“That may be the most important thing, and that's something that I was so impressed when Coach Muschamp got here,” she said. “He said, ‘we're going to emphasize' this because what kids do these days? They’re all on social media, they’re all refreshing Twitter all the time. To have that as an availability, to have that as something and say ... ‘man I want to play at a school where the new uniforms rising out of the lake and it’s this really cool different type video production.' That’s a game changer.”