The South Carolina Gamecocks are looking to add to its 2028 recruiting class by landing a star pass-rusher. At some point this fall, head coach Shane Beamer and his coaching staff will host four-star EDGE rusher Darias Johnson for a visit.Â
According to reports from both 247Sports and Gamecock Central, Johnson will visit several schools during the upcoming football season. South Carolina made the cut for his lists of schools, along with Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, North Carolina, NC State, Tennessee, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.
"I felt like all these schools watched my (high school) film with me and could see how I could fit into their defense," Johnson said via 247Sports. "I can envision myself playing at all of these schools. And they have all recruited me hard and made me feel like a priority. I'm looking for whatever school will push me to develop into the best player I can be."
Johnson is rated by the 247Sports Composite as a four-star, and the No. 33 ranked EDGE rusher in his class. The Raleigh, N.C. prospect who plays out of Broughton High School is rated as the No. 14 overall player from his home state of North Carolina.Â
According to his MaxPreps page, Johnson accounted for 32 total tackles with 14 solo stops last season, along with one sack and a fumble recovery.Â
South Carolina has a strong recruiting track record in North Carolina
Historically, the Gamecocks have recruited several players from the state. South Carolina has landed 29 total recruits from its border state to the north, including guys like defensive tackles Nick Barrett and Melvin Ingram, cornerback Pharoh Cooper, kicker Ryan Succop and quarterback Connor Mitch.Â
Outside of Georgia, South Carolina has recruited the second-most players when looking at recruiting pipelines outside of the Palmetto State.Â
The Gamecocks have landed a slew of big-name guys to their 2027 and 2028 classes, as well. Five-star cornerback Joshua Dobson headlines the 2027 class, which also has three others from the state. Those names include safety Davion Jones, who is Dobson's high school teammate, defensive lineman John Archer and EDGE rusher Jayden Broadie. Coach Beamer added receiver Joseph Gibbs to his 2028 class, who is from the state, as well.
South Carolina was the most recent school to offer the big-time 2028 EDGE rusher, extending one to him this past June. It's obviously still early in Johnson's recruitment, but the Gamecocks are trending in the right direction in landing a visit with him.Â
Along with Gibbs, the Gamecocks' 2028 class includes three-star receiver Jhamari Cain. The class is rated ninth nationally.
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