South Carolina Football: Tyshawn Russell Signs with Carolina
By Kevin Miller
The South Carolina football program has put together one of their top recruiting classes in recent years for the 2023 recruiting cycle. While the recruiting rankings are ever-changing, according to industry leaders on3 and 247Sports, Shane Beamer and company have found themselves firmly inside the top-20 since the Early Signing Period ended.
One of the players in this class is WR Tyshawn Russell, who signed with South Carolina during the Early Signing Period.
Position: WR
Recruiting Ranking: Consensus 3 Stars
Measurables: 6’0”; 175 pounds
Former Player Comp: Jermale Kelly
Tyshawn Russell was a surprise addition to the South Carolina football Early Signing Day haul. Russell joins a host of young pass catchers in the class. Perhaps a victim of the “highlight reel era,” Russell was undervalued in his recruitment process because, on film, his skillset doesn’t jump off the screen as being spectacular. Even though he played for a good high school team who competed against high-level opposition, Russell sticks out for how his performance despite his lack of elite tools.
Russell is not blazingly fast, but no one seems to catch him either. He is not a big receiver, but he makes physical plays on the ball and is a strong runner. He is not dropping defenders with route running, but he’s still always open. He is not the typical “highlight play” receiver, but his highlight films sure are long. Russell is a “gamer” and seems to be a player that has a strong base in every receiver skill but still has room to grow across the board.
A similar receiver profile to Russell, former Gamecock Jermale Kelly was not a dominant performer but was one who was consistently solid and did his job well. Because of that, Kelly finds himself around the top-10 of the all-time leaderboard for most receiver stats in University of South Carolina history. While Kelly is perhaps most remembered for catching Erik Kimrey’s “The Fade” in Carolina’s comeback victory over Mississippi State in 2000, he had a very strong career in garnet and black. Tyshawn Russell could see his career take a similar route as Kelly’s as he profiles to be a solid contributor.
Russell will have the opportunity to compete for playing time as a freshman with “unproven” or “inconsistent” being fair assessments of most receivers on the roster who are not named Juice Wells. Because of his ability to play as an outside X receiver and his experience lining up in the slot, Russell could get a look from Wide Receivers Coach Justin Stepp in a variety of different roles.
A sneaky good get for South Carolina’s 2023 signing class, the well-rounded Tyshawn Russell could make his presence felt in Columbia in short order.