South Carolina Football: Major 4-star DB target announces commitment

South Carolina football has had a nice run of recruiting success over the last week. 4-star wide receiver Zy’marion Lang picked the Gamecocks last weekend, 5-star EDGE Dylan Stewart announced his commitment on August 1st, and big-time 2026 quarterback prospect Landon Duckworth made a public pledge to USC around lunchtime on Saturday.

Just a couple of hours after Duckworth’s announcement, Elite 4-star defensive back recruit Jalewis Solomon announced publicly that he had committed to a program other than South Carolina football.

Solomon’s decision-making process came down to South Carolina, Florida State, and Auburn in the final months of his recruitment, and Auburn’s strong push late put the Tigers on top despite the South Carolina football coaching staff feeling good about their chances to reel in the talented athlete.

While the Schley County High School product plays both wide receiver and defensive back at a high level for the Wildcats, he was recruited by defensive backs coach Torrian Gray as a future secondary player, likely as a cornerback. It appears that most of the other major players in Solomon’s recruitment were also pursuing him as a defensive back.

Solomon is a big-time athlete who has length (6’1″) and good top-end speed to go with fluid, comfortable movements in space.

His brother, 5-star LB/EDGE Zayden Walker, is also a South Carolina football recruiting target. Solomon’s other brother is a defensive tackle at Auburn. With two brothers on the Plains, it seems Walker should be considered a strong lean to Auburn at this point.

Solomon’s commitment away from the Gamecocks means that USC still has just three defensive back pledges in the class of 2024: Braydon Lee (4-star cornerback), Kelvin Hunter (4-star safety), and David Bucey (3-star safety/linebacker). Recent commit Zy’marion Lang could move to defensive back if things don’t work out at receiver as Gray likes the Florida native at DB, as well.