SpursUp Surveillance: Alabama commitment remains interested in South Carolina
August 23, 2016
Bama commitment continues to look at Carolina
Chris Kirschner, who covers Alabama recruiting for SEC Country, caught up with Tide commitment Aaron Sterling, a 2017 defensive tackle from Tucker High School in Georgia.
On Monday, Kirschner wrote about South Carolina’s pursuit of the No. 17 strong-side defensive end in the country.
“They have a really good coaching staff,” Sterling said. “They are really honest with me. They are very straight to the point with me when it comes to my recruitment. They’re just really cool. I can talk to them about anything. That’s the type of relationship I have with them.”
Sterling committed to Alabama on Christmas Day, but he continues to entertain South Carolina and Tennessee. Georgia, for now, doesn’t look like an option.
“They used to hit me up often, but now I guess the season is about to start so everyone is busy,” Sterling said. “They haven’t been hitting me up like they were.”
Skinny: Since we’re talking about an Alabama commitment who’s not a blue-chip, 5-star, everybody’s All-American, this all may be dictated by Nick Saban and what he wants to do in February. It may not even take that long.
More from South Pointe
The best 2018 prospect at South Pointe was highlighted Monday. He’s hardly the only one at the Rock Hill (S.C.) high school.
Two others have offers from South Carolina: 2018 LB/DE Eli Adams and 2018 CB Steven Gilmore Jr. There are a handful of other notable 2018 prospects, including CB Scott Robinson Jr., CB Justin Reese and K B.T. Potter.
Gilmore, a 3-star prospect, is ranked No. 22 in the state’s 2018 class. In South Pointe’s season-opening win over Northwestern, Gilmore primarily was used on the offensive side of the ball at wide receiver. When Derion Kendrick had to sub out at quarterback, Gilmore took over behind center. If he lined up at cornerback, it was only for a few plays.
Eli Adams had a sack Friday night against Northwestern. (Hale McGranahan/SEC Country)Adams played defensive end, even though he spent some time this summer working at linebacker. He registered one sack and a handful of tackles against Northwestern.
After Kendrick, the next best prospect at South Pointe might be Potter, who kicked three field goals against Northwestern – his longest from 40 yards – and put all six of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. After kicking at Chris Sailer’s Top Gun camp in July, Potter was named Class of 2018 MVP.
“B.T. is an extremely talented kicker,” said Sailer in assessing Potter’s talent. “He has a huge leg and big time D-I potential. Field goals are solid off the ground. Kickoffs are a major strength, near the very top of his class. As he continues to work on his consistency, the sky is the limit. I expect BT to remain in the top 10 in his class and compete with the very best in the coming years. He has scholarship level ability. Nice prospect.”
Agreed.
Most of Potter’s recruiting interest has come from Virginia Tech. Trips to South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Clemson are in the works. Over the summer, he camped with Coastal Carolina and Wofford. South Carolina invited him to its specialists camp, but he didn’t receive the invitation until afterward.
Last December, Potter was booming kicks out of the back of the end zones at Williams-Brice Stadium during South Pointe’s 3A state title win.
Bookending Hamsah Nasirildeen’s commitment
Seven days ago, the 4-star defender from Concord (N.C.) High School committed to South Carolina. Last Thursday night, SEC Country visited Concord to see him and 2018 4-star DT Rick Sandidge.
Nasirildeen’s thoughts on South Carolina were featured in that Friday’s SpursUp Surveillance. Here are a few more insights from his father, Hamsah Nasirildeen Sr.
Q: The recruiting process, what are your impressions of how things have been so far?
A: “He handled it really well. I think South Carolina did a really good job with him, because of what they did. They got him early and they stayed with him. There were other schools that might have been more attractive, but they stayed with it. Coach Muschamp just really did an excellent job letting him know that this was a good fit for him, that he could accomplish whatever his objectives were from right there. They just did a great job. At some points, it was overwhelming, but by and large, what we did was, we just let him sort through it. He knew Monday night that’s where he wanted to go.”
Q: Did you feel it was important for him to get it over with before his senior year, so he could concentrate on that part of it?
A: “Not really. I thought that we were going to do some official visits. The official visit was really just a party. What he has found were the things that are important … we put together a list of 20 different categories and when he looked at it, South Carolina started having a lot of boxes checked – great living facilities. One of them was possibly playing for a national championship — that is important to him, but what’s more important to him is the relationship he has with the coaches and proximity to being home and the SEC. And he really believes they’re going to turn things around.”
#SpursUp Surveillance
SECCOUNTRY
August 23, 2016
Bama commitment continues to look at Carolina
Chris Kirschner, who covers Alabama recruiting for SEC Country, caught up with Tide commitment Aaron Sterling, a 2017 defensive tackle from Tucker High School in Georgia.
On Monday, Kirschner wrote about South Carolina’s pursuit of the No. 17 strong-side defensive end in the country.
“They have a really good coaching staff,” Sterling said. “They are really honest with me. They are very straight to the point with me when it comes to my recruitment. They’re just really cool. I can talk to them about anything. That’s the type of relationship I have with them.”
Sterling committed to Alabama on Christmas Day, but he continues to entertain South Carolina and Tennessee. Georgia, for now, doesn’t look like an option.
“They used to hit me up often, but now I guess the season is about to start so everyone is busy,” Sterling said. “They haven’t been hitting me up like they were.”
Skinny: Since we’re talking about an Alabama commitment who’s not a blue-chip, 5-star, everybody’s All-American, this all may be dictated by Nick Saban and what he wants to do in February. It may not even take that long.
More from South Pointe
The best 2018 prospect at South Pointe was highlighted Monday. He’s hardly the only one at the Rock Hill (S.C.) high school.
Two others have offers from South Carolina: 2018 LB/DE Eli Adams and 2018 CB Steven Gilmore Jr. There are a handful of other notable 2018 prospects, including CB Scott Robinson Jr., CB Justin Reese and K B.T. Potter.
Gilmore, a 3-star prospect, is ranked No. 22 in the state’s 2018 class. In South Pointe’s season-opening win over Northwestern, Gilmore primarily was used on the offensive side of the ball at wide receiver. When Derion Kendrick had to sub out at quarterback, Gilmore took over behind center. If he lined up at cornerback, it was only for a few plays.
After Kendrick, the next best prospect at South Pointe might be Potter, who kicked three field goals against Northwestern – his longest from 40 yards – and put all six of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. After kicking at Chris Sailer’s Top Gun camp in July, Potter was named Class of 2018 MVP.
“B.T. is an extremely talented kicker,” said Sailer in assessing Potter’s talent. “He has a huge leg and big time D-I potential. Field goals are solid off the ground. Kickoffs are a major strength, near the very top of his class. As he continues to work on his consistency, the sky is the limit. I expect BT to remain in the top 10 in his class and compete with the very best in the coming years. He has scholarship level ability. Nice prospect.”
Agreed.
Most of Potter’s recruiting interest has come from Virginia Tech. Trips to South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Clemson are in the works. Over the summer, he camped with Coastal Carolina and Wofford. South Carolina invited him to its specialists camp, but he didn’t receive the invitation until afterward.
Last December, Potter was booming kicks out of the back of the end zones at Williams-Brice Stadium during South Pointe’s 3A state title win.
Bookending Hamsah Nasirildeen’s commitment
Seven days ago, the 4-star defender from Concord (N.C.) High School committed to South Carolina. Last Thursday night, SEC Country visited Concord to see him and 2018 4-star DT Rick Sandidge.
Nasirildeen’s thoughts on South Carolina were featured in that Friday’s SpursUp Surveillance. Here are a few more insights from his father, Hamsah Nasirildeen Sr.
Q: The recruiting process, what are your impressions of how things have been so far?
A: “He handled it really well. I think South Carolina did a really good job with him, because of what they did. They got him early and they stayed with him. There were other schools that might have been more attractive, but they stayed with it. Coach Muschamp just really did an excellent job letting him know that this was a good fit for him, that he could accomplish whatever his objectives were from right there. They just did a great job. At some points, it was overwhelming, but by and large, what we did was, we just let him sort through it. He knew Monday night that’s where he wanted to go.”
Q: Did you feel it was important for him to get it over with before his senior year, so he could concentrate on that part of it?
A: “Not really. I thought that we were going to do some official visits. The official visit was really just a party. What he has found were the things that are important … we put together a list of 20 different categories and when he looked at it, South Carolina started having a lot of boxes checked – great living facilities. One of them was possibly playing for a national championship — that is important to him, but what’s more important to him is the relationship he has with the coaches and proximity to being home and the SEC. And he really believes they’re going to turn things around.”
#SpursUp Surveillance
SECCOUNTRY
