South Carolina Football: #WelcomeHome number 3 from last weekend is in!

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer told Gamecock Nation that there was going to be a lot of good news coming from last weekend’s big transfer portal recruiting weekend.

He wasn’t lying.

So far, big 4-star defensive tackle Jerome Simmons (Highland Community College/Junior College) and playmaking wide receiver Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina) have announced their commitments to the South Carolina footballl program. Both players have two years of eligibility remaining and could be in line for big roles next fall if things go well for them this offseason.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon, Beamer sent out another #WelcomeHome tweet, sending South Carolina football fans into a frenzy of excitement and speculation.

Because Beamer included the #AboveAllEl23 hashtag and mentioned the big transfer portal recruiting visitor list, Gamecock fans safely can assume that the mystery commitment was on campus this past weekend.

In addition to the two previously committed players (Simmons and Brown) and Tyler Neville (tight end, Harvard) who committed to Virginia, big-name targets like Rocket Sanders (running back, Arkansas), LT Overton and Micaiah Overton (defensive linemen, Texas A&M), Gerald Kilgore (defensive back, Tennessee Tech), Oscar Adaway (running back, North Texas), and Jayden McGowan (wide receiver, Vanderbilt) were on campus and are viewed as realistic gets for USC.

The Gamecocks are in big need at the wide receiver and running back position, so many fans are hoping to hear some good news from famous names at those positions like Sanders or McGowan, and LT Overton’s 5-star status has fans dreaming of a defensive front that has two 5-star prospects (along with 2024 commitment Dylan Stewart).

However, South Carolina football has other needs on the roster, and any of the players who were on campus would be quality gets for the program. Adaway averaged over 6 yards per attempt in 2023 for North Texas and would bring an older resume to town to help fill a very inexperienced running back room. Kilgore is a quality player in the secondary with good bloodlines (his brother is Gamecock Freshman All-American safety Jalon Kilgore).

The Gamecocks are also in on several other players who did not visit this past weekend, but the expectation is that this commitment is from last weekend’s visitors.