South Carolina Gamecocks News: Football recruiting, basketball recruiting, professional Gamecocks, and more

Here is the latest South Carolina Gamecocks News, starting with a recruiting update from the football team.

A late transfer portal commitment dropped this weekend as UAB grad transfer Drew Tuazama joined the program after graduating at the beginning of August. He will be immediately eligible, and he says that he has two more years of eligibility remaining.

In high school recruiting, 4-star running back Daniel Hill, who has previously stated he would be committing on August 23rd, called the Gamecocks “the favorite” in his recruitment.

4-star offensive lineman and Gamecock target Jordan Seaton was called “one of the best” high school offensive line prospects that On3 CEO Shannon Terry has seen in recent years. Although he is a senior, Seaton’s recruitment is still wide open, but the Washington DC native (now playing at IMG Academy in Florida) is heavily interested in South Carolina football.

4-star Southern Cal commitment Kameryn Fountain had positive things to say about the “real USC” recently. Fountain plans to visit South Carolina at some point this fall.

Class of 2025 4-star quarterback Ryan Montgomery named his top-5 schools last week. Montgomery’s list includes South Carolina, Penn State, Michigan, Florida, and Georgia.

Class of 2026 quarterback commit Landon Duckworth was rated as a 4-star player in 247Sports’ first rankings of the class. He comes in as the 50th-best player in the cycle in the early rankings.

The South Carolina football program is retiring a new jersey in 2023.

Gamecock legend Alshon Jeffery will have his name and number raised in a place of honor on the Williams-Brice Stadium press box during the Mississippi State game this fall.

Jeffery will join Jadeveon Clowney, George Rogers, Sterling Sharpe, Mike Johnson, and Steve Wadiak as Carolina football players with their jerseys retired (Rogers, Sharpe, Johnson, and Wadiak have their numbers retired, as well, but the University has elected to retire jerseys from now on to avoid restricting numbers on the roster).

Fall camp has been full of speculation regarding personnel.

Some minor injuries have been made known to the public, most notably a “lower-body injury” to star receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells. None of the players who are hurt are expected to miss the season opener against North Carolina other than Jaylen Nichols who had a serious knee injury during the Garnet and Black Spring Game.

Several position groups appear to have undecided starting groups. On the offensive line, several positions have active battles taking place. Right tackle seems to be the hottest-contested battle as spring starter Tyshawn Wannamaker, transfer Sidney Fugar, and redshirt freshman Cason Henry are fighting for the spot.

Linebacker is an undecided position group, as well, largely due to the ACL tear and recovery process of projected starter Mo Kaba. Young ‘backers like Grayson “Pup” Howard and Stone Blanton have battled some minor injuries during camp, as well.

Defensive end could be an interesting battle in the last week and a half before the first game. If 7th-year senior Jordan Strachan is healthy, he will start. Transfer Jatius Geer, 6th-year senior Tyreek Johnson, freshman Desmond Umeozulu, and new transfer Drew Tuazama will be contending for the second starting job and the next spots in the rotation.

Other spots, such as running back (Dakereon Joyner) and wide receiver (Juice Wells, Xavier Legette), are set at the top, but the battle for rotation snaps could be heated contests through the rest of fall camp and the beginnings of the regular season.

Two Gamecocks made ESPN’s top-100 list.

Receiver Juice Wells and quarterback Spencer Rattler were ranked as the 91st and 93rd-best players in college football.

Speaking of Spencer Rattler…

The Gamecock quarterback was nominated for the Manning Award preseason watch list.

A couple of Gamecock freshmen received preseason honors.

4-star linebacker Pup Howard was named a preseason Freshman All-American by 247Sports.

5-star receiver Nyckoles Harbor was placed in the top spot on Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List.” He is the first freshman to ever hold the top spot on the list, and he is the second Gamecock (Jadeveon Clowney) to do so.

Harbor was also named to Pat Forde’s “Most Intriguing Non-Quarterbacks List.”

Former Gamecock Jadeveon Clowney signed a new NFL contract.

Clowney signed a 1-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens. He will wear the #24.

Another former Gamecock is ending his NFL career.

Offensive tackle Brandon Shell is set to retire. The former 4-year starter at Carolina was in his seventh year in the league.

The South Carolina women’s basketball program is retiring a legend’s jersey.

In a pregame ceremony before the Maryland contest, Carolina will raise Tiffany Mitchell’s jersey to the rafters. The two-time SEC Player of the Year was arguably the greatest player in program history before Aja Wilson and Aliyah Boston came along.

Dawn Staley’s squad had some big-time positive news on the recruiting front.

5-star guard Maddy McDaniel committed to Dawn Staley’s team. The Maryland native is the first commitment in the class of 2024.

5-star forward Mackenly Randolph, daughter of NBA All-Star Zach Randolph, put the Gamecocks in her top-5. The class of 2024 forward will decide between South Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Michigan State.

Two former Gamecocks got new professional contracts.

Both Destanni Henderson and Alaina Coates signed new 7-day contracts to stay with their current WNBA franchises. Henderson will stay with the Phoenix Mercury, while Coates re-upped with the Las Vegas Aces.

Two former Gamecocks are on record-setting paces.

Rookie forward Aliyah Boston is not only on pace to break the all-time rookie record for field goal percentage, but she is on pace to break the career mark as her 60% 2023 season efficiency number is better than Sylvia Fowles’ all-time career record of 59.9%.

Aja Wilson became the fastest player ever to reach 3500 points, 1500 rebounds, and 300 blocked shots. Her 180 games are 12 fewer than previous record holder Lauren Jackson’s 192 games.

Lamont Paris’ men’s basketball team made a little recruiting noise, as well.

4-star guard Elijah Crawford put the Gamecocks in his top-6 along with Mississippi State, UCF, LSU, Stanford, and Georgia. The Augusta, Georgia native played for a season in Greenville, South Carolina before moving to New Hampshire for his final season of high school basketball.

Fellow 4-star guard KJ Greene, a Blythewood native playing at Pace Academy in Atlanta, announced four official visits. Greene has set official visits to South Carolina, Siena, Florida State, and UCF this fall and is likely to take a few more visits, as well.

Former Gamecock PJ Dozier will continue his professional career.

Dozier, coming off an injury, will look to prove himself in the Adriatic Basketball Association, playing with the Serbian club Partizan BC.

The baseball team picked up an in-state commitment last week.

Class of 2024 right-handed pitcher Cole Greer of Berkeley High School committed to Mark Kingston’s program.

Speaking of Mark Kingston…

The Gamecock headman receive a contract extension and raise at the end of last week. Kingston’s pay is being bumped up slightly to $725,000 per season, and his new deal runs through the 2027 baseball season.