Pair of South Carolina football targets announce college choices on Tuesday night

Tuesday night was not ideal for South Carolina football recruiting efforts.

4-star class of 2026 quarterback commitment Landon Duckworth backed off from his pledge to the program, leaving the Gamecocks without a player at the position in the '26 cycle.

The Gamecocks also missed out on two targets who made their college announcements as 4-star cornerback/athlete Brandon Finney and 3-star defensive tackle Eric "EJ" Thomas both announced their commitments, but neither picked the South Carolina football program.

Finney, a DMV-area kid who visited Columbia earlier in June, picked the Oregon Ducks. The Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions were two of the other major players in his recruitment.

Thomas, a big interior lineman from Florida, had cut his list to South Carolina and Syracuse but opted to pull the trigger on a Syracuse commitment even after visiting Columbia recently.

Losing out on Finney and Thomas doesn't leave the cupboards bare for the Gamecocks' 2025 recruiting class, however.

The Gamecocks have 4-star cornerback Shamari Earls committed in the class (though, some recruiting heavy hitters are pushing hard for him to decommit), and defensive backs Damarcus Leach (4-star safety) and Chris Hatfield (3-star cornerback/safety) are also in the boat. 3-star athlete Jaquel Holman also could play safety at the next level if he doesn't play linebacker. At defensive tackle, athletic lineman Caleb Williams (listed as a 4-star defensive lineman) is the only commitment at the position in the class so far, but Carolina is involved with more players on the defensive front.

A long list of South Carolina football recruiting targets have decision announcements scheduled for this summer. By the time the season begins, the majority of the high school class might be in place as the Gamecocks could have over 20 total commitments in the class by the time Old Dominion rolls into Columbia for the season opener on August 31st.