South Carolina football: Gamecocks trending for a number of recruits

South Carolina football is in the game with some highly rated prospects.

Shane Beamer is doing his best to secure a highly rated recruiting class in his first cycle as South Carolina’s head coach. He got a step closer this month following the commitment of four-star signal caller Braden Davis, and currently has a three-man class that ranks No. 43 in the nation.

While the number is small at the moment, the Gamecocks could start to see a number of new pledges as summer rolls on. South Carolina has set up official visits with some of the country’s top targets. They’ll welcome the nation’s top tight end Oscar Delp, four-star defensive backs Keenan Nelson and Chris Graves, four-star wideout Peter Kikwata, and four-star running back Ramon Brown to campus in June. Brown released a top seven last night that included the Gamecocks, and they seem to be in a good place with the star rusher.

The program seems to be picking up some momentum on the trail, and recently received some ‘crystal ball’ projections from 247 analyst JC Shurburtt. He’s made a number of predictions this week as it pertains to South Carolina football, guessing that six new targets will end up signing with the program when things are said and done.

Those six prospects are wide receivers Peter Kwikata and Addison Copeland, defensive backs Nikai Martinez, JyVonte McClendon, and Kajuan Banks, and defensive tackle Felix Hixon.

Kikwata and Copeland would have an opportunity to compete early in a thin wideout room. Kikwata is rated as the nation’s 305th best player, regardless of position, while Copeland is the fourth-best player in the state of New York.

Martinez, McClendon, and Banks would all bolster a secondary that’s still trying to replace the loss of five players from last year’s roster. Martinez is rated as the best of the bunch, ranked as the country’s No. 302 prospect. Banks and McClendon are both considered top 50 safeties, and would be huge ‘gets’ for Beamer and the defensive staff.

Hixon, too, would add to the defense, though the front four is probably the Gamecocks’ strongest unit at the moment. He’s considered the 50th best player in the Peach State, and the 44th best defensive tackle.

Should Shurburtt’s predictions come to light, South Carolina would add quality depth at positions of need. Shane Beamer has done a great job thus far of selling the vision of the program, and has the Gamecocks in with a number of prospects up and down the East Coast. That vision will only grow as high school athletes are able to visit the campus in person, and more talent jumps in the boat.

Landing a top 30 class just one year removed from a two-win season would be a great start for Beamer and Co., and it’s not completely out of the realm of possibilities.