South Carolina Football: Gamecocks make top-3 for elite RB
By Kevin Miller
![South Carolina football flag. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F345e63aeae259063f1f2f6ddc64983a38d5e8593317f251293dd4772cfc9bba5.jpg "South Carolina football flag. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
South Carolina football is in need at the running back position. Only one current Gamecock scholarship running back is an underclassman (incoming freshman DJay Braswell), and Carolina only has one player committed in the class of 2024 at the position. 4-star Georgia running back Matthew Fuller is expected to be joined by at least one more back before the ’24 cycle is complete.
One of the top names out there for South Carolina football is Benton, Arkansas product Bralen Russell. Russell is a consensus 4-star back, and he is a bruiser running the football. Weighing in at 230 pounds, Russell is a load to bring down just by his sheer size, but he also runs with an edge fans would hope to see from a bigger back.
On Thursday, the former Arkansas Razorback commitment announced his top-3 schools.
Where’s home❓#AGTG @RazorbackFB @Vol_Football @GamecockFB pic.twitter.com/ZU1weZxDNV
— Braylen Russell (@BraylenRussell) July 6, 2023
In a post to his personal Twitter account, Russell named a top-3 of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. He also announced his commitment date. On July 14th, despite being on summer vacation, Russell will be at Benton High School at 7:30 (EST) to announce his college decision.
Russell’s recruitment has seemed pretty up in the air for much of the process. When he was committed to Arkansas, he developed a solid relationship with current South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, and Tennessee has been recruiting him as hard as any other school.
All three of Russell’s top-3 have another 4-star player committed at the running back spot, as well.
Several weeks ago, shortly after announcing an official visit to Columbia, Russell also announced his top-5. Many were surprised to see South Carolina football land a visit and a spot in his top-5, but the Gamecocks have stayed steady in their communication with Russell.
The other top running back target on the board for South Carolina is Mississippi native Daniel Hill. The 4-star Hill is deciding between South Carolina and Alabama.
It is unclear at this time if the Gamecocks would be willing to take a commitment from both Hill and Russell if both players wanted to play for Shane Beamer’s squad.