South Carolina Football: Quarterback commitment accepts Elite-11 Finals showcase invitation
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football has its quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class in Dante Reno. Reno was one of the Gamecocks’ earliest commitments in the class and is locked in with USC as he gets ready to begin his final high school season this fall.
Reno has done a ton of unofficial recruiting of other prospects (both publicly and behind the scenes), and several Gamecock commitments and uncommitted targets have commented on Reno’s recruiting efforts. Even one of his high school teammates (4-star linebacker Elijah Newby) recently decided on taking an official visit to Columbia.
On the field, Reno is considered to have one of the strongest throwing arms of all the elite quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting cycle, and he is rated as a 4-star prospect. He recently won the MVP award at an Under Armour camp that was loaded with participating talent.
Reno will have the opportunity to showcase what he can do on an even bigger stage this summer. For quarterbacks, the Elite-11 Finals in Los Angeles is one of the biggest showcases for high school prospects. The event begins on June 11th and will now include the South Carolina football commitment.
Reno has accepted an invitation to compete at the prestigious event and will compete against some of the best-of-the-best gunslingers from all over the country. 12-24 quarterbacks get invited to the showcase each year, and that number has settled into 20 quarterbacks in recent years.
27 of the 32 projected starting quarterbacks in the NFL were Elite 11 participants when they were going through the recruiting process, and 14 of the last 15 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks took part in the event, as well.
Other SEC commitments participating in the quarterbacks-only showcase include Georgia commitments Dylan Raiola and Ryan Puglisi, Alabama pledge Julian Sayin, Florida commit DJ Lagway, future LSU quarterback Colin Hurley, and Ole Miss-bound Demond Williams, Jr.