‘You can always bounce back.’ USC football signees ready to help after disappointing year.
South Carolina’s football program is coming off its worst season in five years but that hasn’t dampened the optimism of its newest signees.
USC signed 17 players Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period and got a huge commitment from 5-star prospect Jordan Burch late in the afternoon.
“South Carolina is my home team, it is family,” Sumter defensive back O’Donnell Fortune said. “My whole family loves South Carolina.”
Fortune signed with the Gamecocks Wednesday, along with Trai Jones, Tonka Hemingway and Tyshawn Wannamaker, at the Marriott hotel in Spartanburg. The four will play for Team South Carolina in Saturday’s Shrine Bowl game. A ceremony was held Wednesday for the Shrine Bowl players participating in the early signing period.
The four are part of a talented class that includes five-star running back MarShawn Lloyd and four-star quarterback Luke Doty. This group comes in motivated after the Gamecocks finished a 4-8 season that included a win over Georgia. USC didn’t qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2015 when former coach Steve Spurrier resigned during the year and Shawn Elliott finished the season in his place.
“You can always bounce back. You just gotta go and work hard,” Hemingway, a defensive lineman from Conway, said. “I feel we can go in, help turn things around, work hard.”
Gamecocks coaching changes
Rumblings of Will Muschamp’s job security were raised at the end of this past season. But school president Robert Caslen and athletic director Ray Tanner both issued statements in support of Muschamp.
Still, some changes were made. Bryan McLendon was moved from offensive coordinator to receivers coach and Dan Werner was let go as quarterbacks coach. Former Colorado State coach Mike Bobo is now the offensive coordinator and Paul Jackson has replaced Jeff Dillman as strength and conditioning coach.
The signees acknowledged they were paying attention to what was going on with the program and things said about it on social media. But none wavered in their commitment to the school. They want to help the team turnaround and they believe it can happen quickly.
“That’s my team since was younger so I stuck with it,” Wannamaker, an offensive lineman at Calhoun County, said. “I just want to go in and help the team get better. Goal is still to win a national title. It starts in weight room there and translates to the field.”
Fortune said he got pressure from other schools to flip his commitment, but never considered going anywhere else. He is just ready to get started on next season.
“You got to brush it off. It is the past,” Fortune said of last season’s struggles. “You got to stay focused and be ready for the present.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 2:56 PM.
