There have been a lot of South Carolina football players who have gone on to have really nice careers in the NFL at the cornerback position. Names like Stephon Gilmore, Sheldon Brown, Johnathan Joseph, Bobby Bryant, Terry Cousins, and Dunta Robinson are just a handful of these players.
Gamecock fans certainly hope they have at least one more player on their roster who can join that list. The coaching staff, though, is always searching for another player (or 2 or 3 or 4) to bring in as the next great player to help make the University of South Carolina's underrated "DBU" case.
One of Shane Beamer's and his staff's top cornerback targets in the 2025 recruiting class is Virginia native Shamari Earls. Earls is a 4-star prospect who is ranked as high as the #62 player in the entire country (On3).
On Friday, Earls released his top-10 schools list, and South Carolina football was included.
NEWS: Four-Star CB Shamari Earls is down to 🔟 Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) March 15, 2024
The 6’2 195 CB from Chester, VA is ranked as a Top 65 Recruit (No. 8 CB) in the ‘25 Class, per On3
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/T3TRd3NKH4 pic.twitter.com/51wn3SEtzN
Also included in Earls' top-10 were the Duke Blue Devils, Virginia Tech Hokies, Michigan State Spartans, Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Cavaliers, Texas A&M Aggies, Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Tennessee Volunteers. The Gamecocks are considered one of the favorites in his recruitment.
Earls is listed between 6'1" and 6'2" and his arms appear longer on film than that. Earls has good instincts when the ball is in the air, and that, combined with his length, makes him very difficult to complete a pass against in coverage.
Though he is a cornerback prospect, he has some safety experience while playing for his Thomas Dale High School team. that experience could give him a leg up on other young corners when asked to learn zone coverages at the next level.
Earls is also a receiver. He is a playmaker with the ball in his hands, and he can find soft spots in the defense in the intermediate route tree. Those snaps on offense undoubtedly help his work as a defensive back as he has a better understanding of what receivers want to do than secondary players who haven't played receiver at a high level.
You can watch some of his film here.