Local South Carolina football target announces college commitment

The South Carolina football program has the luxury of there being some talented players in their backyard. In the class of 2025 and the class of 2026, the high school talent is pretty strong in the Midlands of the Palmetto State, and the Gamecocks already have started making impressions on those local players.

One of the Columbia-area prospects in the '25 cycle is AJ Brand. A quarterback out of Irmo High School, Brand had been recruited by his hometown school as a defensive back. He is rated as a quarterback by Rivals but as an athlete by both On3 and 247Sports (he is unrated by ESPN).

Most who follow recruiting already had come to the conclusion that Brand's decision-making likely came down to whether or not he wanted to play quarterback at the college level: if he believed his future was at the position, he probably would end up with the Virginia Tech Hokies, but if he was fine with playing defensive back instead, the hometown South Carolina Gamecocks had a fair chance to land his commitment.

By the time decision day came around for Brand, the decision seemed clear. On Sunday, he made things official, announcing his college decision with a simple placement of a maroon and orange hat on his head and a graphic on social media with him standing at midfield of Lane Stadium.

As was expected, AJ Brand pledged his services to the Virginia Tech Hokies. Brand will play quarterback in Blacksburg, and his athletic ceiling makes him a very intriguing prospect for head coach Brent Pry's team.

For the South Carolina football program, three defensive backs are already committed in the class (4-star safety Damarcus Leach, 4-star cornerback Shamari Earls, and 3-star combo defensive back Chris Hatfield) and athlete Jaquel Holman could wind up at safety, as well. USC is in the game with several other secondary players at both safety and corner, so the defensive backfield class probably isn't complete for Shane Beamer's team.