South Carolina Football: Derwin Burgess Commits to Gamecocks

The South Carolina football team picked up its 13th commitment for the 2021 recruiting class Thursday afternoon.

The Gamecocks continue to make a living recruiting the state of Georgia.  Riverdale athlete Derwin Burgess, Jr. announced his commitment to the South Carolina football program on Thursday, becoming the 13th member in the class of 2021.  He made his decision public at 1:00 pm via his Twitter page.

Burgess is the sixth player in the group to hail from the Peach State, and the seventh if you include South Carolina native Marcellus Dial, who currently attends the Georgia Military College.  Here’s what Burgess had to say about his choice.

"“Today is one of the days I dreamed for, worked for, and countless times prayed for. I first want to thank God for blessing me with the ability to perform at the highest level. I also want to thank my mom and family for the countless hard work and sacrifices they made for me to get to this point. Lastly, I want to thank all of the coaches and mentors that poured time and effort in to me to make me the athlete/man I am today. Making this commitment decision wasn’t easy at all as I took all 25 offers into serious consideration and I am extremely grateful for every single last one of them. This decision is the beginning of the end for my old chapter and the beginning for the new one. Now for the next 3 to 4 years, I will be looking forward to building relationships with every coach/new teammates at the next place I will be calling home. Today, July 2nd, 2020 I am verbally committing to the University of South Carolina. #SpursUp #GoGamecocks.”"

Burgess, who’s rated as a three-star prospect by both Rivals and 247Sports, picked the Gamecocks over offers from East Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia.  He’s viewed as the 55th best player at his position, and the 75th best player in his home state.

He becomes the second Gamecock commit in as many days, following fellow three-star athlete Simeon Price, who made his announcement yesterday.  Since the start of June, South Carolina has received seven pledges for the ’21 class.

Though labeled as an athlete, the Gamecocks are looking to utilize Burgess on the offensive side of the football.  He projects as a wide receiver for new coordinator Mike Bobo, and should provide the versatility to line up at multiple spots along the offense.

With the pickup, South Carolina’s current class leaps to No. 33 nationally, just behind the University of Cincinnati and just ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners.  The Gamecocks may not be done, either, as in-state target TJ Sanders is set to make his college commitment in the coming days.  He plans to release his final four schools at 7:30 pm tonight.