South Carolina Football: Gamecocks fall victim to National Signing Day flip

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his Gamecock coaching staff have had a nice Signing Day. Some big-name recruits have signed with the program, including two 5-stars (EDGE Dylan Stewart and OT Josiah Thompson) for the first time since 2020 when MarShawn Lloyd and Jordan Burch pledged themselves to the Gamecocks.

As of Wednesday afternoon, USC has signed almost every member of their 2024 recruiting class and even had a Signing Day flip go their way in the form of wide receiver (and former Texas A&M Aggies commitment) Debron Gatling.

However, a few hours after Gatling's decision came in, the Gamecocks fell victim to a Signing Day flip of their own, though it was one that had become expected in the past few weeks.

4-star cornerback Braydon Lee, a Maryland native, flipped his long-standing commitment from the Gamecocks to the Terrapins and signed with his home-state school. South Carolina football players (and DMV natives) Nyck Harbor, Desmond Umeozulu, and Tree Babalade were in attendance at the announcement.

Lee, who has some personal reasons for wanting to stay home, instantly became a top-5 player in Maryland head coach Mike Locksley's 2024 recruiting class. He was ranked 18th in the Gamecocks' class (including transfer portal players) according to 247Sports.

The Gamecocks managed to sign 4-star defensive backs Jalewis Solomon (corner) and Kelvin Hunter (safety), 3-star safety David Bucey, and transfer portal DB Gerald Kilgore earlier on Wednesday. With Lee off the board, the Gamecocks could be in line to pursue a corner through the transfer portal before the 2nd transfer window closes after spring practice.

Now that Lee's announcement has gone public, only Vanderbilt transfer wide receiver Jayden McGowan has not signed. McGowan committed to the Gamecocks out of the portal, but there has been some speculation that he might not end up in Columbia.