The South Carolina football team thought it was finished with recruiting for the week with the Early Signing Period wrapping up last Wednesday. The Gamecocks were able to pull a top 25 class and add two major transfers to join the roster for the 2022 season.
Shane Beamer had different plans, though, as he wasn’t quite done with closing out the class. Late last week, the Gamecock head coach teased yet another commitment for a player planning to come to Columbia for the upcoming campaign.
It was originally thought that we’d have to wait until after the New Year to learn who that prospect was, but over the weekend, Gamecock fans got an early surprise.
Welcome home, @t_bailey5! pic.twitter.com/1vYjrDu93J
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) December 18, 2021
Four-star signal caller Tanner Bailey signed with the South Carolina football program, adding yet another talented option to the Gamecocks’ quarterback room. Bailey will join Spencer Rattler and Braden Davis in the current recruiting haul, while Luke Doty and Colten Gauthier are already on campus.
Bailey chose the Gamecocks over offers from Oregon, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, and Tennessee. Originally committed to the Ducks, the passer re-opened his recruitment following the coaching changes in Eugene.
South Carolina was heavily involved in his recruitment early on, finishing as a runner-up for his first commitment. With the uncertainty at Oregon, he opted to flip that pledge and sign with the Gamecocks.
Bailey is rated by Rivals as the nation’s No. 222 prospect, regardless of position. He’s viewed by the site as the 12th-best pro style quarterback and one of the top players in the state of Alabama. The signing pushed the Gamecocks’ class into the top 20 nationally.
With the addition of Bailey, this could be South Carolina football’s top quarterback haul in program history. Braden Davis and Bailey are considered four-star talents by a number of recruiting outlets. Then, you have Heisman trophy candidate Spencer Rattler joining the fold.
It should be fun to watch the quarterback race unfold in Columbia for the 2022 season.