South Carolina Football: High-impact recruits on campus

Last Friday, the South Carolina football staff got some good news on the recruiting front when offensive lineman Blake Franks picked the Gamecocks over Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, and others. This is a testament to the hard work the staff has put into recruiting the future of the program. That hard work continues this week as the Gamecocks have some big visitors either on campus right now or arriving for the weekend.

Transfer portal EDGE player Derrick McLendon is currently on campus. The Florida State transfer is a graduate student with up to two years of eligibility remaining. In rotational and part-time starting duty the past two seasons, McLendon has tallied seven total sacks and ten tackles for loss. The Gamecocks are very thin at defensive end after the departures of Jordan Burch, Gilber Edmond, and Hot Rod Fitten. Presumed starter Jordan Strachan is also recovering from an ACL tear he suffered last season.

Another transfer portal target at a position of need is Utah State defection AJ Vongphachang. The linebacker is in Columbia today and has two more years of eligibility. He racked up over 100 tackles last fall. The linebacker position is one with almost no significant experience returning for the Gamecocks, so getting a portal player would be a big get.

Athletic offensive tackle David Sanders will be on campus this weekend. He is the #1 player in the 2025 class according to 247Sports (and #6 overall according to On3). The Charlotte native has offers from all over the country. The Gamecocks put together a very good offensive line class in 2023 and are in the process of securing an even better one in 2024. Managing to land Sanders would be a solid start to the 2025 class being another step up the ladder.

Fellow Providence Day School football product Miles Funderburk will also be on campus this weekend. The Adidas Freshman All-American is part of the 2026 recruiting class.

Amauri Anderson is another class of 2025 recruit who is on campus. He is considered an athlete by the recruiting industry and has recently picked up some Power-5 offers.

2026 tight end/defensive end combo James Morrow was on campus yesterday.

So was 2025 running back Justin Nkosi Baker.

More players are slated to visit this weekend, as well. Garnet and Cocky will have more on how the visits went after the weekend recruiting efforts are over.