Gamecocks 'set the bar' for California QB on visit

Orange, Ca. quarterback Ryan Hilinski visited South Carolina over the weekend with family members including his brother Kelly who plans to go to medical school where Ryan decides to play football. The Hilinskis flew back to California overnight Saturday, and after a few hours of rest, headed to Hawaii for a family vacation and to scatter the ashes of his late brother Ty.

Sunday, Hilinski released his top seven schools and USC is prominent on that list, especially after the visit.

"I think South Carolina set the bar this past weekend with that visit," Hilinski said. "I talked to Kelly, and he said it's going to be hard to get better than that. I think after visiting the other schools in the top seven we can see how much they put into the visit when I come out. I use South Carolina as a weighing point. I would say South Carolina is the bar that has been set so far."

To say Will Muschamp and company put out the garnet carpet for Hilinski and his brother would be an understatement.

"I think this visit was way better than last time actually," he explained. "Talking to coach Muschamp, coach Werner and coach McClendon, it seemed like their views were a little bit more like, 'Hey man, we'd love to have you here.' A little bit more motivated this time. Just getting to sit in on meetings and talk to them and getting on the field for the spring game. We were at the 50 yard line. I talked to the president of South Carolina (Harris Pastides). I talked to Mrs. Spurrier. Marcus Lattimore was talking to Mrs. Spurrier and I walked over because Marcus waived at me, and I went to introduce myself to Mrs. Spurrier, and she goes like, 'You don't have to introduce yourself, I know who you are.' I was like, you've got to be kidding, Mrs. Spurrier knows who I am? That was pretty cool. And Coach Werner arranged for Kelly, my older brother, to talk to the chief medical director at the med school and they've been texting on and off about how he can get Kelly in there and working things out. That was pretty cool to see because that's the only school that's done that for me and Kelly so far. It was a great visit overall."

The other schools on his short list are Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oregon, Arizona and Arizona State. Hilinski knows each offers great football and education, and there's another common denominator he found in each.

"Just the relationships I have with these coaches.," he said. "All of these coaches have been talking to me and been involved in my recruiting since after their season, some before the season. I know I've talked to Coach Muschamp since during the season. I think that's the biggest thing for me is building a relationship with these coaches because they are going to be there for all four years hopefully and you're going to be with them more than you're going to be with your own family. I like all the coaching staffs and I think I could see myself at each of those universities."

Hilinski plans to visit Oregon on April 16-17 and then he will return to Georgia for the spring game April 21. He also will take an official visit to Arizona State this month and he said after those visits he might be done. His brother will join him on the visits. He's also expecting some coaches to visit him during the next live period.

He's also talking with Ole Miss about a return visit and will take an official visit to Arizona State this month. He said after those visits he might be done.

Hilinski plans to announce his decision on Ty's birthday, May 26.

This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Gamecocks 'set the bar' for California QB on visit."