South Carolina football commit receives 4-star bump in recruiting ranking update

The South Carolina football program saw a lot of recruiting movement during the month of June. Commitments, decommitments, visitors, top school announcements, and more seemed to come each day.

Things slowed down a bit at the end of the month and into July as the recruiting calendar entered a dead period. However, on Monday, some news South Carolina football recruiting news broke anyway as On3 updated their class of 2025 recruiting rankings.

The first commitment of June for the Gamecocks was Blackville-Hilda High School product Jaquel Holman, and the small-town standout got some good news in On3's update as he was bumped up to being a 4-star prospect.

Holman, who is ranked as a linebacker by On3, a running back by 247Sports, and an athlete by ESPN and Rivals, has elite athletic tools as evidenced by his state championship track performances as a junior and solid size at 6'1" and 200 pounds. It is believed that Holman's future with the Gamecocks is as a linebacker or safety, but he is an impressive high school running back, as well.

Holman's physical makeup will allow him to compete for playing time early in his college career. That especially will be true on special teams as he is built like an ideal coverage unit player on kickoffs and punts thanks to his size, speed, and tackling ability.

At the linebacker position, the Gamecocks are set to lose (at least) four seniors to graduation as Debo Williams, Bam Martin-Scott, Demetrius Knight, and Bangally Kamara will be gone after the 2024 season. That opens up playing time in the middle of the Carolina defense in 2025 and beyond. If Holman is to be a linebacker with the South Carolina football program, he will need to add some weight, but he has the frame necessary for that to happen.

The story is similar at safety over the next two seasons. Junior Nick Emmanwori is likely NFL-bound after this fall, and fellow junior DQ Smith will graduate after 2025. Jalon Kilgore, a current sophomore, is expected to be a draft candidate that same year. With the top-3 at the position moving on in the next two years, there will be snaps available for Holman to earn at safety if that is his future position.

You can watch some of his film here.