Brandon McIlwain undecided on enrolling early at USC

Quarterback Brandon McIlwain, of Newtown, Pa., is the key to South Carolina’s 2016 class, and he remains locked in despite the departure of Steve Spurrier.

Other schools have recently tried to recruit him, but McIlwain has remained true to the word he gave to Spurrier and recruiter G.A. Mangus last New Year’s Eve.

McIlwain’s also close to getting school district approval to graduate early, which would allow him to enroll early. But McIlwain said it’s not a definite he’ll do that because of baseball. He’s thinking about his senior season and his pro options.

“I’m still getting the interest, I’m still getting recruited and it’s still an option I’m keeping open,” McIlwain said. “Could be until after the season that I’ll make any kind of decision on that. After the season is when a lot of things are going to happen, and I’ll have a lot more time to talk to my family.”

If McIlwain enrolls early at USC, it would take him out of the pro baseball draft this summer.

“It’s more than that, too,” he explained. “It’s staying and enjoying my senior year, so it’s not just the draft. I’m either enrolling early, or I’m staying and playing baseball for my school my senior year. It’s more than just the draft. It’s more of the experiences I would miss and stuff like that.”

McIlwain said he’d be happy if Mangus is retained by the new coach.

“Coach Mangus is the coach who recruited me and who I have the best relationship with,” he said. “It does change things because he’s a big reason why I came. There are obviously many reasons why I committed to South Carolina, but I would love to see him stay if possible. It would definitely be big for me if he could stay.”

McIlwain’s familiar with Houston coach Tom Herman, who’s believed to be a candidate for the USC job. He was recruited by Ohio State when Herman was offensive coordinator there and spent time with him on a visit.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 4:58 PM.