South Carolina football: updating where the Gamecocks stand with 2022 recruits
By Jacob Elsey
A quick recruiting update for South Carolina football.
Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football staff has been hot on the trail in search of highly regarded prospects to join the program. The 2021 recruiting class is essentially closed out, meaning the focus turns to the class of 2022.
The Gamecocks had one players, quarterback Gunner Stockton, in the boat early last year, but following the firing of Will Muschamp and the departure of Mike Bobo, Stockton decided to revoke that pledge. He is now a part of the Georgia Bulldogs’ class after committing in late January.
The loss of Stockton was certainly a big one, but it was almost expected after Bobo left the Gamecocks’ staff. But it appears that Shane Beamer and crew could be close to landing a replacement.
Four-star signal caller Tanner Bailey has been trending of late in the direction of the Gamecocks, landing four recent crystal ball predictions in the program’s favor. Bailey also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Oregon, Tennessee, and a bevy of others. The Mississippi State Bulldogs, at the moment, seem to be the Gamecocks’ stiffest competition to land the talented passer, especially with his home state Crimson Tide receiving a commitment from quarterback Ty Simpson last week.
At the moment, Bailey ranks as the nation’s 10th best pocket passer in the class of 2022, as well as the Yellowhammer State’s ninth best player, regardless of position. He would be a huge get should he pull the trigger on a commitment to South Carolina.
One player that did pull the trigger last week was four-star safety Anthony Rose, who committed to the Gamecocks on February 23rd. He becomes Shane Beamer’s first pledge in Columbia, and is currently the lone member in the class.
Rose is a Florida native that picked the Gamecocks over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State, Penn State, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. He could become an immediate contributor at a position of need in the South Carolina secondary, where the Gamecocks lost five members from the 2020 roster.
Moving from maybe the thinnest position group on the team to probably its strongest, the Gamecocks have been trending for Columbia running back CJ Stokes. Stokes is a three-star back with offers from Duke, Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Temple, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Yale.
South Carolina is pretty loaded at tailback, but as the team saw last year with the offseason injury of MarShawn Lloyd, you can never have too many options.
Stokes isn’t the only Palmetto State native on the Gamecocks’ radar, as four-star prospects Jaylen Sneed, Jaleel Skinner, and Antonio Williams also have South Carolina in their top groups, though only Williams has received a prediction in favor of the Gamecocks. Those players will be three to keep a close eye on as the recruiting process plays out.