Recapping a phenomenal recruiting weekend for Will Muschamp and the Gamecocks
June 13, 2016
The first week of the summer recruiting push was a very productive one for South Carolina’s coaching staff.
Coach Will Muschamp sent out a foursome of #SpursUp tweets, notifying the masses that the Gamecocks picked up commitments for their 2017 recruiting class.
Muschamp landed two on Wednesday when defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and linebacker Davonne Bowen hopped on board. On Saturday, receiver Shi Smith and linebacker Eldridge Thompson pulled the trigger within minutes of each other.
Wyatt, an unranked prospect from Towers High School (Decatur, Ga.), committed to South Carolina before leaving the campus that morning. He has also reported offers from NC State, Oregon State and South Florida.
“The things that I saw in the young football players coming in and the older football players, the way the coaches and staff — it’s hard work,” he said of South Carolina. “I like everything about it. It feels like home down there.”
Wyatt went on to say that he’s “never met a coach like” Muschamp.
Bowen’s commitment had been in the works for a few days. The three-star defensive end from Woodmont High School (Piedmont, S.C.) will play linebacker for the Gamecocks.
Smith, now the highest-rated prospect in South Carolina’s class, is a four-star athlete from Union, S.C. He’s rated the No. 2 overall in-state prospect and the No. 14 athlete in the country.
Smith committed before his team left for home after Saturday’s on campus 7-on-7 tournament.
Muschamp’s second #SpursUp of that afternoon was for Thompson, a former junior college teammate of South Carolina cornerback signee JaMarcus King.
“They want me as a (weak-side) linebacker. I can play in the box and I can cover,” Thompson said. “I can cover most slots out there in the passing game, because of my athleticism and my speed.”
Arkansas, Baylor and Missouri have also been in contact with Thompson, but his other offers were from Middle Tennessee, South Dakota State, South Alabama and schools from Conference USA.
Like Wyatt, Thompson committed while on campus, shortly after picking up the offer.
Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Thompson said playing in the SEC will be a dream come true.
“The atmosphere on campus, and all of the coaches were excited for me to be there and how the coaches pulled me in and wanted the best for me, I just love the campus,” Thompson said. “I love everything about the school that I saw (Saturday).”
Later that night, offensive line coach Shawn Elliott tweeted about the 650 high school players that were on South Carolina’s campus Saturday. Elliott was one of the hosts for the morning’s linemen camp. Among the top prospects for his side of the ball were 2017 three-star commitment Eric Douglas (Charlotte, N.C.), 2017 three-star Riley Locklear (Huntington, W.V.) and 2018 target Warren Ericson (Duluth, Ga.)
Three-star LB James Houston IV (Plantation, Fla.) joined three-star RB commitment Kyshaun Bryan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) arrived to Columbia on Friday and stayed through Sunday. Three-star TE commitment Will Register was also on campus Saturday.
Westside High School (Anderson, S.C.) took home the 7-on-7 title. Defensively, the Rams are led by three-star safety Lummie Young IV, a former Gamecock target who recently committed to Duke.
Several other notable recruiting targets appeared in the tournament, including 2018 Fort Dorchester (S.C.) QB Dakereon Joyner 2018 Byrnes (Duncan) WR Demarcus Gregory, who was offered by the South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gamecocks will host on camps every day this week, in addition to the work they’ll do out of town at various satellite camps.
According to Phil Kornblut, 2017 Wando (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) WR OrTre Smith will visit on Monday.
Chaminade-Madonna High School (Hollywood, Fla.) 2018 teammates RB Shaun Shivers and WR Xavier Williams are also confirmed as guests.
Kaleb Oliver, a 2017 safety from Murfreesboro, Tenn., Israel Mukuamu, a 2018 safety from Berkeley, S.C. and Matthew Butler, a 2017 defensive end from Garner, N.C., will attend camp on June 17.
SECCOUNTRY
June 13, 2016
The first week of the summer recruiting push was a very productive one for South Carolina’s coaching staff.
Coach Will Muschamp sent out a foursome of #SpursUp tweets, notifying the masses that the Gamecocks picked up commitments for their 2017 recruiting class.
Muschamp landed two on Wednesday when defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and linebacker Davonne Bowen hopped on board. On Saturday, receiver Shi Smith and linebacker Eldridge Thompson pulled the trigger within minutes of each other.
Wyatt, an unranked prospect from Towers High School (Decatur, Ga.), committed to South Carolina before leaving the campus that morning. He has also reported offers from NC State, Oregon State and South Florida.
“The things that I saw in the young football players coming in and the older football players, the way the coaches and staff — it’s hard work,” he said of South Carolina. “I like everything about it. It feels like home down there.”
Wyatt went on to say that he’s “never met a coach like” Muschamp.
Bowen’s commitment had been in the works for a few days. The three-star defensive end from Woodmont High School (Piedmont, S.C.) will play linebacker for the Gamecocks.
Smith, now the highest-rated prospect in South Carolina’s class, is a four-star athlete from Union, S.C. He’s rated the No. 2 overall in-state prospect and the No. 14 athlete in the country.
Smith committed before his team left for home after Saturday’s on campus 7-on-7 tournament.
Muschamp’s second #SpursUp of that afternoon was for Thompson, a former junior college teammate of South Carolina cornerback signee JaMarcus King.
“They want me as a (weak-side) linebacker. I can play in the box and I can cover,” Thompson said. “I can cover most slots out there in the passing game, because of my athleticism and my speed.”
Arkansas, Baylor and Missouri have also been in contact with Thompson, but his other offers were from Middle Tennessee, South Dakota State, South Alabama and schools from Conference USA.
Like Wyatt, Thompson committed while on campus, shortly after picking up the offer.
Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Thompson said playing in the SEC will be a dream come true.
“The atmosphere on campus, and all of the coaches were excited for me to be there and how the coaches pulled me in and wanted the best for me, I just love the campus,” Thompson said. “I love everything about the school that I saw (Saturday).”
Later that night, offensive line coach Shawn Elliott tweeted about the 650 high school players that were on South Carolina’s campus Saturday. Elliott was one of the hosts for the morning’s linemen camp. Among the top prospects for his side of the ball were 2017 three-star commitment Eric Douglas (Charlotte, N.C.), 2017 three-star Riley Locklear (Huntington, W.V.) and 2018 target Warren Ericson (Duluth, Ga.)
Three-star LB James Houston IV (Plantation, Fla.) joined three-star RB commitment Kyshaun Bryan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) arrived to Columbia on Friday and stayed through Sunday. Three-star TE commitment Will Register was also on campus Saturday.
Westside High School (Anderson, S.C.) took home the 7-on-7 title. Defensively, the Rams are led by three-star safety Lummie Young IV, a former Gamecock target who recently committed to Duke.
Several other notable recruiting targets appeared in the tournament, including 2018 Fort Dorchester (S.C.) QB Dakereon Joyner 2018 Byrnes (Duncan) WR Demarcus Gregory, who was offered by the South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gamecocks will host on camps every day this week, in addition to the work they’ll do out of town at various satellite camps.
According to Phil Kornblut, 2017 Wando (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) WR OrTre Smith will visit on Monday.
Chaminade-Madonna High School (Hollywood, Fla.) 2018 teammates RB Shaun Shivers and WR Xavier Williams are also confirmed as guests.
Kaleb Oliver, a 2017 safety from Murfreesboro, Tenn., Israel Mukuamu, a 2018 safety from Berkeley, S.C. and Matthew Butler, a 2017 defensive end from Garner, N.C., will attend camp on June 17.
SECCOUNTRY
