The rumor mill both in Columbia, SC and Baton Rouge, LA is running hot on Wednesday. Four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound playmaker out of Jackson, Alabama has become the center of one of Earley Signing Day's most intriguing subplots. And the clock is ticking.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, Duckworth still had not signed with South Carolina, the program he committed to in July and later reaffirmed. In the SEC, silence isn’t neutral. Silence is leverage. And right now, LSU is pushing every button available to flip the No. 10 quarterback in the 2026 class.
Sources around Baton Rouge have been buzzing that LSU hasn’t backed off. If anything, they’ve doubled down. Duckworth was in town back on September 6 for the Tigers’ matchup with Louisiana Tech, a visit that turned plenty of heads on its own. What raised even more eyebrows was who he spent time with: five-star LSU commit Lamar Brown, one of the crown jewels of the Tigers’ class and a recruiting pied piper in his own right. During that trip, Duckworth received an LSU offer from the previous coaching staff.
For South Carolina, Duckworth isn't just a piece of their 2026 class. He is the piece. Losing him this late would punch a hole right through the momentum Shane Beamer has been trying to rebuild. The Gamecocks have fought hard to keep Duckworth twice already: after his 2024 decommitment, and again when LSU hosted him in September. They’ve made him a priority, and they have invested in the relationship.
But it’s Early Signing Day, and none of that matters until the paper hits the table.