South Carolina Football: Gamecocks named top-2 for 4-star DB committing this week

There is no nice way to say that things didn’t go quite as planned for South Carolina football recruiting in July. The Gamecocks missed out on several prospects for whom they were considered a favorite in the not-so-distant past. 4-star prospects Liam Andrews, Keylen Adams, and DD Holmes all chose other schools despite being viewed as leans to USC earlier in the process.

The “sky is falling” response by some fans was too strong, but there was reason to be concerned about the Gamecocks’ summer, especially with how it related to the class of 2024.

However, there could be a drastic shift in the other direction during the month of August.

Things started off with a bang as 5-star EDGE Dylan Stewart pledged his services to the Gamecocks on Tuesday, but more could be coming this weekend.

On August 4th and 5th, two elite Gamecock targets are set to announce their decisions.

4-star wide receiver Jonathan Paylor (South Carolina vs. NC State vs. North Carolina) and 4-star athlete Jalewis Solomon (South Carolina vs. Florida State vs. Auburn) will make their college decisions public on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Paylor’s choice was long-viewed as a Gamecock lock, but NC State has made his recruitment a toss-up over the last month.

Solomon, though, has gone back and forth in his leaning toward South Carolina football and Florida State.

After a weekend in which Solomon visited both South Carolina and Auburn, the Schley County High School product announced that he had a change in his top-two: Florida State “probably” was no longer in the running for his services, and Auburn and South Carolina have become his top-2 heading into decision week.

Ahead of his August 5th announcement date, many are taking this as a positive sign for the Gamecocks as South Carolina football and Florida State have been the only two teams consistently “in it” for Solomon. With the Gamecocks appearing to be the “last man standing” from his long-tenured two favorite schools, could that mean a commitment is a foregone conclusion?

On the other hand, there is some concern amongst fans that Auburn’s sudden surge (and the fact that his brother plays for Auburn) could mean the 4-star is headed to The Plains.

With more coming up soon, make sure to buckle up, Gamecock fans. August is going to be a big month.