Monday was a massive day for South Carolina football recruiting. After a huge official visit weekend that saw talented players from all over the country in Columbia, South Carolina, head coach Shane Beamer lit a fuse on the firework that is the online South Carolina Gamecocks community.
What many might have thought was a single-shot air bomb variety firework soon was revealed to be a multi-shot aerial explosive that delivered bang after bang after bang.
On Monday, Beamer tweeted out three separate #WelcomeHome tweets indicating that three different players had called to tell the Gamecock headman that they were pledging their commitments to the University of South Carolina.
In the modern world of recruiting, sometimes fans have to wait days, weeks, or even months to learn which players “silently committed” to their favorite teams. Thankfully for South Carolina football fans, one of Beamer’s three #WelcomeHome commitments announced his pledge within a couple of hours.
5-star punter/placekicker Mason Love is one of the three Monday commits. Based on the timing of his announcement and Beamer’s own announcements, Love is one of the first two commitments of the day. Rated as a top-5 punter and top-20 kicker by Kohl’s Kicking, Love will come in and compete for an opportunity to fill the shoes left behind by Kai Kroeger and/or Mitch Jeter. Both incumbent players have one additional year of eligibility remaining past 2023 but could go pro.
The other two commitments are unknown. However, several Gamecock targets are on “commit watch” as Carolina appears to be the overwhelming favorite for each of their services. Couple that fact with Beamer implying that at least one of the commitments was from a recent official visitor and 3-star linebacker Fred “JayR” Johnson and 3-star running back Matthew Fuller are most likely.
According to his personal Twitter account, Johnson plans to announce his commitment this weekend.