South Carolina Football: Gamecocks among nation's leaders in "Blue Chip Ratio"

South Carolina football fans weren't happy with what they saw on the field in 2023. The Gamecocks struggled with injuries and poor play as they limped to a 2-6 start to the year. Winning three in a row gave the fanbase hope for a bowl game, but a loss to the rival Clemson Tigers extinguished USC's postseason chances.

As disappointing as the year was, Shane Beamer and his staff held together a very impressive recruiting class.

South Carolina football is bringing in a good group from both the high school ranks and the transfer portal, and when compared to other programs' average player rating, the Gamecocks' '24 class ranks in the top-15 in the country and is one of the best in terms of the recruiting world's "blue chip ratio." The blue chip ratio is the measurement of the percentage of players that are ranked as "blue chippers." A blue chipper is a player who is a 4-star or 5-star recruit.

According to On3's industry composite recruiting rankings, of the 15 high school players coming into the program this year, 10 of them are rated as 4-star prospects or 5-star prospects. That translates to a 67% blue chip ratio, a number that is good for 8th-best in the entire country in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Only the Georgia Bulldogs (82%), Texas Longhorns (77%), Alabama Crimson Tide (77%), Texas A&M Aggies (77%), Ohio State Buckeyes (73%), Oregon Ducks (70%), and Florida Gators (70%) have a better blue chip ratio in the '24 class. Annual recruiting powers like the LSU Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Michigan Wolverines, Tennessee Volunteers, Miami Hurricanes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Oklahoma Sooners, Southern Cal Trojans, and the rival Clemson Tigers do not measure up to the Gamecocks in this year's recruiting class when considering the blue chip ratio.