South Carolina football: 7 unheralded recruits that will impact Gamecocks
By Jacob Elsey
Muse is another player that Gamecock fans should be familiar with. The tight end has been a member of the program for two seasons, while his brother played for archrival Clemson. Muse suffered a season-ending ACL tear in year one, but saw an uptick in production in 2020.
Muse came to Columbia via transfer from William & Mary. As a recruit, he was unrated, and saw very little interest from Division I programs. After signing with The Tribe in the 2017 class, Muse earned all-conference honors. He then transferred to join the Gamecocks.
As a junior in Columbia, the pass catcher hauled in just 17 passes, but his senior year was much more impactful. He more than doubled his receiving output, and was returning signal caller Luke Doty’s favorite target over the second half of the season. Muse opted to return to Columbia for one final year. It should be his best yet.
Brooks, a transfer from Wingate University, was another unranked pass catcher that’s found his way into the receiving rotation. The wideout was an all-conference performer with the Bulldogs, tallying over 1,000 yards in his two seasons on campus. Brooks averaged more than 20 yards a catch at Wingate, and is hoping to have that same big-play impact for the Gamecocks as a senior.
He actually got to campus last year, but was forced to sit out half the season due to NCAA transfer restrictions. When he finally did get in the lineup, his impact was minimal as he still had to adapt to SEC football and pick up on the playbook.
Brooks now has a season under his belt and is looking to cap off his career with a big year. Expect the wideout to be targeted down the field often in 2021, as the Gamecocks will need all the big plays they can get on offense.
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Jenkins comes to South Carolina from St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. With the Red Flash, Jenkins set a school record with 13 receiving touchdowns in 2019. St. Francis cancelled its 2020 season, which led to the transfer of both Jenkins, and his quarterback, Jason Brown.
Jenkins was a two-star recruit in the class of 2017, and he was once committed to play for Old Dominion. His biggest offer came from Group of Five program Ohio. Now, he finds himself in the receiving rotation for an SEC school, and he should make an immediate impact for the Gamecocks.
Jenkins can line up in a similar role to the one Kyle Pitts had a Florida (though we’re not projecting he’ll become a top 5 NFL Draft pick… yet). At 6-foot-8, he’s tall enough to beat defensive backs in jump ball situations, but he’s athletic enough to cause mismatch problems for linebackers. Jenkins will be a major part of the offense, particularly in the redzone, and he should be able to carve out a significant role in Columbia.