South Carolina Football: Gamecocks make early group of favorites for 5-star defensive back

South Carolina football has a large group of 2025 prospects that already have expressed heavy interest in the Gamecocks.

The latest from the class to put out a top group of schools is 5-star defensive back DJ Pickett. On Thursday, Pickett announced his top-13 programs, and South Carolina football was part of the group.

Pickett’s top-13 includes South Carolina, Miami, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida State, and LSU.

With him being part of the class of 2025, things are still early in Pickett’s recruitment, but some information has come out about a presumed favorite. He has referred to Miami as his “dream school” relatively recently, so the Hurricanes should be viewed as the favorite or at least near the top of his thoughts at the moment.

Pickett has taken numerous unofficial visits this summer, and the rising junior in high school has taken one of those unofficial trips to Columbia to check out the South Carolina football program.

As a player, the 6’3″ defensive back is long and rangy, allowing him to get to more ball carriers and passes in the air than most prospects his age. His track times also reveal him to be one of the fastest athletes in the state of Florida, a state known for putting out some real burners.

Pickett possesses good ball skills and instincts on the ball in the air, skills likely honed during his time playing receiver for the Zephyrhills High School offense. He is also a big-time leaper, and it feels like any 50-50 ball in the air belongs to him.

The recruiting industry has rated him unanimously as the top safety in the country. All four major recruiting outlets (On3, 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals also have him listed inside the top-13 of all prospects in the class, regardless of position. As far as one can tell, all programs (including the South Carolina football program) are primarily recruiting Pickett as a defensive back.

You can watch some of his film here.