It’s official: Gamecocks add third running back to 2020 class
The South Carolina football team just completed something relatively rare.
The Gamecocks are in line for a three-running back class as they just got the paperwork for junior college recruit ZaQuandre White. This is simply not something that happens all that often.
One has to go back to 2000 in the 247Sports database of commits to find a three-tailback class at South Carolina, back when Lou Holtz was calling the shots. But the Gamecocks are in the midst of a large-scale backfield turnover — USC lost four seniors at the position — and White became the final piece of this class along with MarShawn Lloyd and Rashad Amos.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound White comes to South Carolina from Iowa Western Community College, where he reasserted himself as a running back. The former Florida State player started his career in the backfield but was moved to linebacker his sophomore season.
White is the No. 1 junior college running back and No. 15 overall JUCO player in the country, according to 247Sports. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 141 player in his class when he first enrolled at FSU.
He committed to the Gamecocks in December, but his announcement was not accompanied by a #SpursUp confirmation tweet from Will Muschamp. White needed to show academic improvement before Muschamp would approve his signing, and he got that done.
He took his official visit to USC the weekend of the Clemson game.
“I love coach (Will) Muschamp and coach (Thomas) Brown, the running backs coach,” White said following that visit. “Everything felt like a family. It wasn’t anything about them selling me. It was about, at the end of the day, it’s business and I feel like that this would be a good fit for me. I just feel like I’m an all-around back and can do it all. I just feel like they’ll have a playmaker coming.”
Last season, White was second in the national junior college rankings with 109.5 rushing yards per game. He only played in eight games, but posted 876 yards, 10 touchdowns and averaged 6.4 yards per carry. He made 22 tackles in his last season at FSU.
His arrival, along with Amos and Lloyd, means a rebuilding of the running back room. Seniors Tavien Feaster, Rico Dowdle and Mon Denson are gone, plus A.J. Turner, who ran for more than 1,300 yards from 2016-18. The four combined for 1,416 yards last season.
Deshaun Fenwick and Kevin Harris remain as players experienced in the system. Lloyd is a top-50 national prospect and Amos was a late riser who South Carolina poached from Western Kentucky’s class.
And then there’s White, a big and dynamic player who adds some veteran presence to a group without much college experience.
“We’re just ready to get in there, I’ll be an older guy, so ready just to get in there and work,” White said earlier this month. “Competition is going to make us better. At the end of the day, we’re all part of one, so I don’t there will be any animosity among us.”
As the third tailback, White pushes this class into some unusual territory. One-running back classes seem relatively common these days, and South Carolina has only signed two in one class since Muschamp arrived (a year after taking none). In 247Sports’ database, USC has three no-running back classes, one that included a fullback who quickly moved away from the position.
Between 2002 and 2015, USC took multiple backs 10 times, though one included a player who didn’t enroll for a year. One must go before that for a three-back class, when the records get a little less organized and an option-friendly coach in Holtz was at the helm (his 2000 and 1999 classes are each listed with three backs by 247Sports).
With South Carolina having an unusual need, it makes sense the team will bring in an unusual class. White adds one of the final pieces and should be in line to compete for carries quickly once he arrives.
Phil Kornblut contributed
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 8:20 AM.
