South Carolina Football: 10 times that star ratings didn’t matter for the Gamecocks

The most rankings-busting recruits in South Carolina Football history:
Quarterback Connor Shaw

Connor Shaw (2010-2013) was initially an unranked wide receiver prospect out of Flowery Branch, Georgia. When he moved to quarterback as a junior, he became a 3-star athlete or dual-threat quarterback depending on which recruiting service one checked. After receiving a slew of offers as a senior and committing to USC, Shaw was listed as a low 4-star by 247Sports in their first year’s rankings but remained a lowly-ranked recruit according to the other services.

It turned out that the new guys on the block were closer to correct about Shaw, although, even they were too low on #14. After taking over the starting job about halfway through his sophomore year, Shaw led the Gamecocks to the most successful run in school history. South Carolina football went 11-2 in all three of Shaw’s seasons under center and finished in the top-10 all three years, as well.

Undefeated in his career in games at Williams-Brice Stadium, Shaw was criminally underrated in the award conversations after his senior campaign. Shaw logged over 3000 yards of offense with 31 touchdowns while only throwing one interception on the entire season. The Gamecocks also finished 4th in the country in 2013 and were one helmet catch against Tennessee away from playing for the SEC and National Championships.

Almost unanimously, Shaw is considered the greatest quarterback to ever wear garnet and black, but according to the recruiting industry, he was not an important piece of the 2010 recruiting class for the Gamecocks.