South Carolina football received a commitment two weeks ago from class of 2026 quarterback Landon Duckworth. The Alabama native made the pledge to the Gamecocks despite still being almost three years away from high school graduation.
Upon his scholarship offer and commitment, Duckworth was unranked (as was the rest of his high school recruiting class), but that is now a thing of the past.
On Wednesday, 247Sports released their initial rankings for the class of 2026, and Duckworth found himself with some stars beside his name.
One of just three committed players in 247’s early rankings, Duckworth is rated as a 4-star player and comes in ranked at #50 nationally. He is the 4th-highest rated quarterback in the class and the 3rd-highest rated prospect in the state of Alabama.
Duckworth will compete with class of 2023 quarterback LaNorris Sellers and class of 2024 quarterback Dante Reno when he arrives in Columbia. Class of 2025 quarterback Ryan Montgomery recently put the Gamecocks in his top-5 schools, and the Gamecocks will look to sign one signal-caller in that cycle, as well.
As a player, Duckworth is a dual-threat at the QB spot. He has a big arm that only will get better as he works on his mechanics and strength. He is a solid runner, as well, and a fluid athlete who competes for the track team and basketball squad for Jackson High School.
You can watch some of his film here.
There are no 5 stars at this early point in the rankings, and just 100 players made this initial list. Each of the 100 rising high school sophomores was rated between a 90 and a 92 on 247’s evaluation scale.
J’Zavien Currence, a Rock Hill, South Carolina native and major South Carolina football target was pegged as the 33rd-best player in the class and the 4th-best cornerback. He is the only Palmetto State native in 247’s top-100.