Ryan Hilinski and a current Gamecock have a plan to bring West Coast talent to USC

South Carolina’s Keisean Nixon joined an exclusive club last season.

A look back at Gamecocks rosters shows he’s only the second California native to play with USC since 2005, joining junior college defensive back Toure Boyd. If all goes according to plan, a third name will join that group when quarterback Ryan Hilinski enrolls in the spring of 2019 after committing on Wednesday.

Hilinski has already talked to Nixon (their high schools are about 30 miles apart), and if they get their way, they’ll add a little more Golden State flavor to Will Muschamp’s program.

“Me and him are going to start working on Chris Steele over here at St. John Bosco,” Hilinski said in an interview with SportsTalk. “Get these West Coast guys over to South Carolina with me.”

Steele would be the 6-foot-1, 188-pound, five-star cornerback currently rated as the No. 29 player in the country in the 247 composite rankings. One of the most highly recruited players nationally, he visited South Carolina on March 24 and included them in his top 14 that includes Alabama, Oklahoma, Southern Cal and LSU.

According to the 247 database, the Gamecocks have offered at least five other California blue-chip recruits. Three are teammates of Steele and three are top-300 recruits.

Hilinski will also use Nixon, who will likely start in USC’s secondary next season, as a sounding board about the big move coming up.

“We’re going to get on the phone and just talk a little bit about how the transition worked out for him,” Hilinski said. “I think that could be very beneficial.

“He’s a great guy.”

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Ryan Hilinski and a current Gamecock have a plan to bring West Coast talent to USC."