South Carolina Football: 10 times that star ratings didn’t matter for the Gamecocks
By Kevin Miller
The most rankings-busting recruits in South Carolina Football history:
Linebacker Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones (2018-2020) was criminally underrated coming out of Ware County High School. He was a low 3-star, including a ridiculous rating from Rivals that saw the linebacker ranked as just the 100th-best prospect in the state of Georgia.
Once he overcame a back injury early in his career, Jones didn’t take long to prove his doubters wrong as he became a starter in his first fully healthy season. For his career, he averaged 8 tackles per game despite playing on a defense with multiple other future NFL-ers like Javon Kinlaw, Jaycee Horn, Israel Mukuamu, and Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare.
Jones earned his way to a 3rd-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, and he became an instant impact player in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams. He was so good as a rookie that he was a top-3 finisher in Super Bowl MVP voting after posting a sack, a pass breakup, a 4th down stop, seven tackles, and four quarterback hurries in the Rams’ victory over the Bengals.
The lowly 3-star became a star at the college level and a star at the professional level, and there is no limit to how good Ernest Jones can be.