Priority South Carolina football recruiting target ready to announce commitment soon

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer has had an interesting offseason concerning the wide receiver coach position on his staff. This winter, Beamer hired long-time SEC assistant James Coley to coach the wideouts and shifted Justin Stepp from that job to tight ends. It didn't take very long, though, before both Stepp (Illinois) and Coley (Georgia) left. In the end, the head Gamecock brought in Limestone head coach and former NFL receiver Mike Furrey to man the position.

The returns have been strong so far. As USC has at least four receivers leaving the program due to graduation after the 2024 season, Furrey has done a good job at working to make sure next year's team has plenty of talent in his position room.

After his hire, Furrey maintained a solid relationship with previously committed in-state player Jayden Sellers (the younger brother of starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers) and has landed pledges from North Carolina product Brian Rowe and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native Lex Cyrus. Rowe and Cyrus are 4-star prospects, and Sellers is creeping his way toward becoming a blue chipper, as well.

Furrey and the Gamecocks might not be done, either.

One of the top targets left on the South Carolina football recruiting board is in-state wide receiver Malik Clark. The Rock Hill High School rising senior is a 4-star prospect with elite speed (clocked in the 4.3s in the 40-yard dash and 10.5s in the 100-meter sprint) and decent size (listed at 6'1" or 6'2" depending on which outlet one checks).

Clark recently trimmed his list down to four programs, and the South Carolina Gamecocks, North Carolina Tar Heels, Florida State Seminoles, and NC State Wolfpack made the cut. On Thursday night, the athletic pass-catcher revealed that he is ready to make his commitment.

July 25th will be decision day for the consensus 4-star prospect, and his finalists remain USC, UNC, FSU, and NCSU.

Landing Clark would be a huge boon for the Gamecocks. All three of the team's commitments at the position are smaller, shiftier receivers, and the current roster only has three scholarship receivers taller than 6'0" (CJ Adams, who has never played; Dalevon Campbell, who transferred in this offseason from Nevada; and Nyck Harbor, who is a rising sophomore). Adding a player with size who can play on the outside would open up the Carolina offense in a big way moving forward.

Clark's elite athletic ability makes him a near guarantee to become a contributor at the college level. He has enough juice as a playmaker to force his way into early playing time if things go well for him, but he also has some untapped potential that could see him grow into an elite player.

You can watch some of his film here.