South Carolina Football: A look at every 5-star recruit in program history; Two are in this year's class!
By Kevin Miller
![The top-ranked recruit of all-time: South Carolina football legend Jadeveon Clowney The top-ranked recruit of all-time: South Carolina football legend Jadeveon Clowney](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1780,h_1001,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/244/01hjrhknarsf4nmreb99.jpg)
South Carolina Football's All-Time 5-Star Recruits:
Defensive End Jordan Burch (Class of 2020)
The only modern 5-star to play for the Gamecocks after graduating from a Columbia-area high school, Jordan Burch entered the South Carolina football program with unbelievably high expectations. He never lived up to the unrealistic Jadeveon Clowney comparisons, and many Carolina fans incorrectly called the Hammond School alum a bust.
What Burch was, though, was a good player. In his final year as a Gamecock, he led all SEC defensive linemen in tackles (60); however, because he never put up a big sack total, fans had mixed feelings about the talented defensive end. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Burch transferred to Oregon after his third year in Columbia.
Burch started off really well for the Ducks but tailed off some late in the year. At this point, he has not made an announcement about his future, but whether he returns to college or heads off to the NFL, he still has a lot of athletic potential that remains untapped.
Considered a 5-star player by all four major recruiting services (rated sometimes as a defensive tackle and sometimes as a defensive end), Jordan Burch is one of the most gifted players to ever wear "CAROLINA" across his chest. He didn't quite live up to expectations and left under less-than-ideal circumstances, but there's no denying that he has the potential to be the next great former Gamecock rushing the passer in the NFL.