South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer teased out a #WelcomeHome on Thursday, signifying that the Gamecocks had landed a silent commitment to the class of 2025. It didn't take long for the man behind that commitment to come forward as 3-star Georgia native Jaiden Braker revealed his pledge to USC on social media on Saturday afternoon.
IM HOME 🏠 @On3sports @CoachSBeamer @CoachClaytonW @BCWright52 @Qfalk @_Coach_Crawford #SpursUp #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/w75D3HDZ9J
— Jaiden Braker (6’4 215) (@jaidenbraker_11) July 6, 2024
Braker is rated as a linebacker by all four major recruiting services (On3, 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals), but his size and athleticism have him firmly in the hybrid linebacker/EDGE mold in the mind of many who follow recruiting. The South Gwinnett High School star has experience playing as a traditional linebacker and being utilized as a stand-up pass rusher.
He is listed at 6'3"/6'4" and weighs between 210 and 220 pounds, but Braker has the quick-twitch athleticism necessary to play some wide receiver at the high school level. Physically, he profiles very similarly to current USC freshmen Fred "JayR" Johnson and Wendell Gregory. Both players are starting off with the linebackers in their first year with the program.
Braker is one of seven South Carolina football commitments in the class of 2025 who is listed as a linebacker or an EDGE player. Both Braker and North Carolina native Taeshawn Alston are true hybrids who could wind up at either position or, if the Gamecocks stick with their 3-3-5 packages, could play a pass-rush role from the linebacker spot like Jaron Willis did to end the 2023 season.
Braker has the ideal special teams body, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he gets some playing time on some of Joe DeCamillis' units (especially the kick coverage teams) even as a true freshman. He will help fill out a linebacker room that is losing four seniors to graduation (Debo Williams, Bam Martin-Scott, Demetrius Knight, and Bangally Kamara).
You can watch some of his film here.