Gamecocks in pursuit of Jacksonville-area tackle prospect

Not many weeks go by where Cordavien Suggs doesn’t get a new scholarship offer. The Class of 2017 offensive tackle prospect doesn’t mind keeping track.

An offer from Maryland this week was his 27th, he said.

“It’s been going good,” Suggs said. “I’ve been enjoying the process and just taking it all in.”

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Suggs is a rising senior at Fletcher High, located just blocks from the Atlantic Ocean in one of the Jacksonville-area beach towns. South Carolina junior receiver Jamari Smith is a Fletcher alum.

The Gamecocks, along with Mississippi State and Tennessee, are recruiting Suggs the hardest, he said. USC tight ends coach Pat Washington is the recruiter for the area, but Suggs also keeps in touch with offensive line coach Shawn Elliott. He said he hears daily via text message from Washington, Elliott or head coach Will Muschamp.

“I like everything” about USC, Suggs said. “I went up there for a junior day and I loved it. The coaches had great energy. It was exciting. I talked with Coach Elliott a lot. He’s definitely an o-line coach that I can learn and grow under.”

Coaches like his athleticism, frame and size. The Gamecocks are recruiting him as a tackle, he said, and that’s the position at which he’s most comfortable.

He has no summer camp plans yet but expects to take some visits, including to South Carolina. There is a timetable for focusing in on a few schools.

“It’s still a big list,” Suggs said of his offers. “I’m going to narrow it down after spring.”

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Gamecocks in pursuit of Jacksonville-area tackle prospect."