South Carolina football is in need of adding a highly-touted running back in the 2024 recruiting class. For months, the Gamecocks were involved with three main 4-star targets at the position: Mississippi native Daniel Hill, Florida product Anthony Carrie, and Virginia’s top player Peyton Lewis. In recent weeks, Georgia’s Matthew Fuller has joined the conversation.
One of the four running backs on the Gamecocks recruiting board announced earlier this week that he would be committing soon. Peyton Lewis, a homerun threat with big straight-line speed, tweeted out that he would be committing on May 27th.
True to his word, Lewis announced his college choice on Saturday.
Proud to announce my COMMITMENT towards The University of Tennessee!!🍊🍊#GBO @Hayesfawcett3 @Vol_Football pic.twitter.com/eSl4uRXUrw
— ᴘᴇʏᴛᴏɴ”ᴘ”ʟᴇᴡɪs② (@peytonlew2) May 27, 2023
As was expected, Lewis made a public commitment to join Josh Heupel and the 2024 Tennessee Volunteer recruiting class. Lewis had been trending pretty heavily toward the Vols in recent weeks, and his pledge on Saturday seemed all but inevitable. The Gamecocks were considered to be in Lewis’ top-2, but Tennessee, ultimately, was the choice.
Though commitments do not end a player’s recruitment, Lewis has given no reason for Gamecock fans to believe that he has any intention of backing off of his commitment to the Vols. Things are certainly not finalized, but the Gamecocks will likely be turning their attention to the other targets.
Hill is a dynamic, big-bodied back who seems almost certain to be deciding between South Carolina and Alabama. He splits time between running back and receiver in high school but is expected to be a full-time ball carrier in college.
Carrie has seen his recruiting stock drop a bit in recent months but is still considered a 4-star by several recruiting services. The Gamecocks like Carrie but appear to be higher on the other backs on their recruiting board. Carolina is one of the favorites for Carrie along with Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and North Carolina.
Fuller is a lower-profile recruit, but the Gamecock staff like him a lot. South Carolina football is his biggest offer as Minnesota and Iowa State are his only other Power-5 scholarship opportunities right now.