Why Jonathan Gipson delivered a surprise early signing to South Carolina
December 21, 2017
The plan for South Carolina commit Jonathan Gipson had been to sign in February.
The 6-foot-2, 182-pound safety from Hoschton, Ga., didn’t speak often, but was roundly expected to be part of the second wave of Gamecocks recruits. Yet, as USC coach Will Muschamp began his early signing day news conference Wednesday, the school tweeted out Gipson’s name.
So what changed for the Mill Creek High School star?
“I believe Shannon Jarvis, his head coach, may have had a talk with him,” Muschamp said. “When you deal with young people, sometimes they hear something, and they think that’s a really good idea. At the end of the day, Jonathan’s been committed here.”
Athletes often luxuriate in the recruiting process, taking all their visits, getting wined and dined by a slew of programs. There’s an argument for a player doing what he wants, but there can be fallout.
“Who wouldn’t want to go take 14 other trips and go to some different places and see some different things and get your food paid for and all that kind of stuff?” Muschamp said. “It’s a neat experience. But you also run the risk of losing a scholarship somewhere if you continue to wait on those situations.”
This year, Steven Gilmore, brother of former Gamecocks star and current New England Patriot Stephon Gilmore, learned that the hard way. Steven Gilmore was choosing between four offers from good Power 5 programs. But he waited, dragging the process out.
Classes got filled, and the South Pointe star finds himself with no offers from big programs.
Jarvis is a veteran coach, one who understands the ins and outs of the process. Muschamp guessed some of that perspective got passed on.
“I think they had a little meeting today,” Muschamp said. “And they called us when we got off the practice field and said, ‘Is there any way you could email the stuff over to us. We’d like to sign today.’ ”
Muschamp called Gipson a ballhawk, someone coaches in Gwinnett County in Georgia kept mentioning. He can play safety, corner and returner in special teams. As a senior, he had 58 tackles, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He ranked 370th nationally in the 247 Composite, 35th among cornerbacks.
December 21, 2017
The plan for South Carolina commit Jonathan Gipson had been to sign in February.
The 6-foot-2, 182-pound safety from Hoschton, Ga., didn’t speak often, but was roundly expected to be part of the second wave of Gamecocks recruits. Yet, as USC coach Will Muschamp began his early signing day news conference Wednesday, the school tweeted out Gipson’s name.
So what changed for the Mill Creek High School star?
“I believe Shannon Jarvis, his head coach, may have had a talk with him,” Muschamp said. “When you deal with young people, sometimes they hear something, and they think that’s a really good idea. At the end of the day, Jonathan’s been committed here.”
Athletes often luxuriate in the recruiting process, taking all their visits, getting wined and dined by a slew of programs. There’s an argument for a player doing what he wants, but there can be fallout.
“Who wouldn’t want to go take 14 other trips and go to some different places and see some different things and get your food paid for and all that kind of stuff?” Muschamp said. “It’s a neat experience. But you also run the risk of losing a scholarship somewhere if you continue to wait on those situations.”
This year, Steven Gilmore, brother of former Gamecocks star and current New England Patriot Stephon Gilmore, learned that the hard way. Steven Gilmore was choosing between four offers from good Power 5 programs. But he waited, dragging the process out.
Classes got filled, and the South Pointe star finds himself with no offers from big programs.
Jarvis is a veteran coach, one who understands the ins and outs of the process. Muschamp guessed some of that perspective got passed on.
“I think they had a little meeting today,” Muschamp said. “And they called us when we got off the practice field and said, ‘Is there any way you could email the stuff over to us. We’d like to sign today.’ ”
Muschamp called Gipson a ballhawk, someone coaches in Gwinnett County in Georgia kept mentioning. He can play safety, corner and returner in special teams. As a senior, he had 58 tackles, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He ranked 370th nationally in the 247 Composite, 35th among cornerbacks.