South Carolina Football: Elite quarterback prospect announces college choice

South Carolina football fans have been fully engaged with recruiting over the past week or so as the Gamecocks have received four commitments to the class of 2025.

4-star wide receiver Brian Rowe, in-state safety Damarcus Leach, and 4-star EDGE Anthony Addison all announced their pledges to Shane Beamer's program, and a fourth #WelcomeHome post from Beamer has not yet come forward publicly with his commitment announcement.

Several major Gamecock targets have revealed that they would be making their public commitments soon. One of these targets is Findlay, Ohio prospect Ryan Montgomery, a 4-star quarterback in the '25 cycle who recently whittled down his list of favorite schools to include just the South Carolina Gamecocks, Florida Gators, and Georgia Bulldogs.

On Wednesday afternoon, Montgomery announced his college choice, and as had been expected, the talented quarterback committed to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Montgomery had long been considered a South Carolina lean, but he seemed to always have an eye on the quarterback situation with the Georgia Bulldogs. As UGA did not bring in several quarterback recruits they had been linked to in recent months, the situation in Athens became more and more appealing to Montgomery. When he moved his decision date ahead of the South Carolina football spring game, it became apparent that things had shifted significantly toward the 'Dawgs.

With Montgomery likely out of the picture now for Dowell Loggains and the Gamecock offense, it is unclear what USC plans to do at the position in the class of 2025.

Multiple in-state prospects were close to earning offers earlier in the recruiting process, and the team could reignite conversations with those players, but most of them have already committed to other programs. The transfer portal might be a more realistic option for the Gamecocks (whether in next year's class or the following), especially when one considers that all scholarship quarterbacks on the roster can return next season for Carolina.

Ryan Montgomery would have been a really nice get for South Carolina, and he was a priority for the Gamecocks. However, the expected starter this season (LaNorris Sellers) is just a redshirt freshman, his backups (Robby Ashford and part-time receiver Luke Doty) have another year of eligibility, a true freshman (Dante Reno) is expected to redshirt, and the class of 2026 already has a quarterback commit (Landon Duckworth). If the Gamecocks manage themselves well, they will be able to withstand this recruiting miss easily.