South Carolina Football: Top defensive back puts Gamecocks in final list

The South Carolina football team has two Freshmen All-Americans returning as sophomores at the safety position in 2023 as Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith hope to build off of their outstanding first year in garnet and black. Despite the returning talent, the Gamecocks have already secured a commitment from one 4-star safety in the class of 2024 (South Carolina native Kelvin Hunter), and they have some other irons in the fire at the position, as well.

One of the top safety targets on the South Carolina board is Warner Robbins, Georgia product Ricardo Jones. ‘Cardo, as he is known, is a consensus 4-star recruit. Over the weekend, the Northside High School defensive back released a 9-team group of finalists via an announcement on Twitter.

Jones’ final nine schools include South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, LSU, Michigan, Florida State, Clemson, Tennessee, and Auburn. Jones’ recruitment is still open, but the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine favors Auburn and Tennessee over the other 7 finalists. Jones’ social media activity indicates he is also very high on Michigan. He has taken visits to Texas, Tennessee, Florida State, and Alabama (who is not a finalist for his services) and plans to make trips to (at least) South Carolina, Clemson, and Auburn.

As a player, Jones has a high upside. He possesses good ball schools, is rangy at the backend of the defense, and is a fluid athlete. However, he will need to rework his body a bit. At 6’2″/6’3″, Jones is 190 pounds, which is within the range of “normal” for an SEC safety. However, he will need to get significantly stronger to be able to contribute well as a tackler in the run game and against bigger receivers and tight ends who may come across the middle of the field.

In addition to being in the game for Jones, the South Carolina football program is heavily involved with a large group of other defensive backs, including 4-star prospects like Kaj Sanders, Kam Mikell, and Jalewis Solomon. 4-star safety Kelvin Hunter and 4-star cornerback Braydon Lee already committed to the Gamecocks back in April.