Versatile Virginia defender Bryce Steele commits to Gamecocks
Flip on the highlight film of Bryce Steele, and the Alexandria, Virginia football player seems to be everywhere. One play, he’s tearing off the edge. The next, he’s sticking with a receiver in the slot. In some spots, he’s listed as a safety, but at 6-foot-1, 207 pounds, he’s more often projected as an outside linebacker.
And where to play him will now be Will Muschamp’s problem, as Steele committed Saturday afternoon to the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The move had been foreshadowed earlier in the week, when after he set his announcement, the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions flipped 100 percent from North Carolina to South Carolina. Steele is the fifth current member of the USC 2021 recruiting class.
“I first camped there two summers ago before they offered, and after camp, coach Muschamp personally came up to me and told me that they will be recruiting me until the day I sign with a school and that hopefully it’d be them,” Steele said. “I camped again this past summer and I also went to watch them play Alabama. One thing I love about the Gamecocks is the relationship I have with the coaching staff. We talk on a regular basis. It’s a good academic school, big time SEC football, and they seem to play their players early.”
Steele claimed offers from schools such as North Carolina, Texas, Duke, Michigan, Ohio State, Maryland, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Penn State. He originally hails from Raleigh, North Carolina.
UNC and South Carolina had been Steele’s finalists before a late offer from Texas and former Gamecocks linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler delayed his plans. His new linebackers coach will be Rod Wilson.
Steele visited USC a half-dozen times over the process, most recently in March when he got the chance to watch some practice. The Gamecocks are looking to replenish their linebackers and that was duly noted by Steele.
“They are pretty thin at the linebacker position, so I’ll be able to come in and early playing time right away if I come in and do everything I’m supposed to do,” Steele said. “I could see the field pretty early. That’s a big factor for me, an opportunity to possibly play early and develop as a player. They expressed they not only want me but they need me to be a part of the team, not only as a player on the field but as a leader on the field and off the field.”
Steele said the first coach he told about his commitment was assistant defensive backs coach Kyle Krantz, who recruits Virginia.
Steele is the No. 359 player in his class in the 247 Sports composite rankings. He’s the 15th-ranked inside linebacker and No. 9 player in Virginia. The 247 non-composite rankings have him as a four-star, and he sits less than 10 spots from the composite four-star threshold.
His school’s MaxPreps credits him with 43 tackles and six sacks as a sophomore, and he missed all of last season after surgery to remove a benign mass from his chest.
“All my life, I’ve been recruited as a safety,” Steele said in an announcement interview with Rivals. “At USC, I’ll be playing linebacker. I kind of asked South Carolina why linebacker. They said my speed and athleticism. That will put me at an advantage compared to other ‘backers.’
South Carolina’s 2021 class:
▪ QB Colten Gauthier
▪ DB Marcellas Dial
▪ DT Nick Barrett
▪ WR Sam Reynolds
▪ LB Bryce Steele
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 1:01 PM.
