South Carolina Football: Recruits flocking to Columbia for spring game under the lights
By Kevin Miller
For those that may have forgotten, South Carolina football will play its annual spring game this weekend. On Saturday at 7:00 under the lights of Williams-Brice Stadium, Carolina fans will have their first opportunity to watch the 2023 Gamecocks (even if some of the players who will be on the roster haven’t arrived on campus yet).
Perhaps just as important as what these college athletes do on the field on Saturday is the experience a group of high school athletes will have while in attendance. South Carolina football will be playing host to a large group of high school recruits on Saturday, ranging from 2024 commits to 2024 targets to 2025 prospects and beyond.
South Carolina commitments Dante Reno, Mazeo Bennett, Kam Pringle, Wendell Gregory, Michael Smith, and Blake Franks will all be in attendance. With the nature of recruiting these days, the six future Gamecocks will likely be acting as assistant recruiters around the spring game festivities. Likely future 5-star Josiah Thompson will be committing publicly on Friday, the day before the game, and he is considered a Gamecock lean. It is unclear if Thompson will be at the spring game or on campus this weekend.
Among the uncommitted prospects expected to be in attendance from the class of 2024 are in-state target Kelvin Hunter, #1 overall recruit Dylan Stewart, and some other major targets like Charlotte’s Micah Gilbert, Georgia native KingJoseph Edwards, and Stateboro’s Kamron Mikell. 2025’s top in-state talent, potential 5-star Amare Adams, will be on campus, as well.
In total, there will be over 25 recruits visiting for the spring game. Having the game at night, the Gamecocks’ elite in-stadium experience will be felt (at least in part), and the pregame concert and postgame fireworks show should attract lots of fans to add to the environment.
Admission to the game is free, parking is cheap (or free if you can find it), food trucks will be out, and Gamecock Village will open up at 3:00, a half hour before Patrick Davis’ pregame concert.
For more details on the spring game and gameday traffic that will be affected by the I-77 closures, check out the official announcement from gamecocksonline.com.