The South Carolina Gamecocks are eager to add to its 2027 recruiting class. It currently has just three members, so the Gamecock coaching staff will likely have to make up some ground in the upcoming summer months.
One way to do just that is landing 4-star EDGE rusher James Pace III. On Tuesday evening, the 4-star prospect out of Hyattsville, M.D. named his top five remaining schools, and South Carolina made the cut. The Gamecocks are a finalist along with Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee and Maryland. The news was fist reported by On3's Hayes Fawcett:
NEWS: Four-Star EDGE James Pace is down to 5 Schools, he tells me for @Rivals⁰
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 29, 2026
The 6’4 233 EDGE is ranked as the No. 3 EDGE in Maryland (per Rivals Industry)⁰⁰Where Should He Go?⁰⁰https://t.co/RVVfkXDXjI pic.twitter.com/V2kphCMhwf
ALSO READ: Gamecocks land big-time 2027 OL recruit
Pace is ranked as the No. 14 overall EDGE rusher in the 2027 class, and the No. 4 overall prospect out of his home state of Maryland per the 247Sports Composite.
He plays high school football out of big-time DMV school DeMatha Catholic. Although he does not have an official visit on the books just yet for Columbia, he has a couple locked down in Syracuse on June 12 and Maryland June on 19.
The Gamecocks' 2027 class ranks 65th nationally in the country, so adding Pace would be a huge get for Shane Beamer and company. We'll see if South Carolina can get an official visit on the books for Pace sometime in the coming weeks.
South Carolina offers 2028 OL recruit
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