South Carolina Football: After a long, dramatic recruitment, 4-star RB target announces college choice

The Daniel Hill recruitment has been a wild one. The Meridian, Mississippi native is a 4-star running back prospect who has played all over the field in high school. A running back/quarterback/wide receiver/linebacker, Hill cut his final list to Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina football.

Or so everyone thought.

Shortly after cutting his list, a commitment to the Gamecocks was coming when Hill's father had him postpone his decision. Publicly, both Hill and his father acknowledged that he wanted his son to play at Alabama.

Then, months passed. During that time, both Alabama and South Carolina were given plenty of reasons to be optimistic about landing Hill's commitment. He even reiterated that USC, 'Bama, and UT were still his top-3. However, no matter what he was saying publicly, his hometown Mississippi State Bulldogs got involved for Hill.

After previously eliminating both in-state SEC schools in Mississippi, Hill took multiple visits to Starkville, and even the most plugged-in recruiting experts were throwing up their hands when trying to predict what was going to happen.

Decision day came on Saturday for Daniel Hill at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

After scoring 2 touchdowns for the West team in the all-star showcase, Hill announced that he would be heading to play for Alabama in the fall.

Hill was recruited primarily as a linebacker by Alabama, but a Signing Day flip sent running back Jadan Baugh to Gainesville, Florida instead of Tuscaloosa, Alabama as was expected. The move could mean that Hill is in line for running back duty with the Tide.

The South Carolina football staff seemed very prepared for this decision, taking three running backs in the transfer portal, including a younger player in South Carolina State transfer Jawarn Howell. Howell, current sophomore Djay Braswell, and incoming freshman 4-star Matthew Fuller are the future at the position after veterans Rocket Sanders and Oscar Adaway graduate.

Those players do not have a coach currently, however, as running backs coach Montario Hardesty was let go earlier this week. Gamecock coach Shane Beamer will be filling that position soon.