Live updates: South Carolina football’s list of newcomers on National Signing Day
National Signing Day officially kicked off Wednesday morning, but for South Carolina football, it’s likely to be a fairly quiet affair.
What with the rise in activity in December’s early signing period, coupled with new Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer hitting the transfer portal hard, there are just a few spots left on USC’s roster for late-signing prospects.
A few recruits — defensive lineman T.J. Sanders and linebacker Kolbe Fields — were set to simply make their commitment to Carolina official Wednesday. Several others waited until Wednesday to announce where they’ll be going.
The first of those, cornerback La’Dareyen Craig of Mobile, Alabama, chose USC over an offer from Mississippi State. Craig is a three-star prospect who, according to his high school coach, put in hard work over the past few months to ensure he qualified academically.
Craig was followed Wednesday afternoon by junior college linebacker Tavareon Martin-Scott, who went with South Carolina over West Virginia and Mississippi State in a ceremony.
There was one target who spurned South Carolina: safety Juwon Gaston of Montgomery, Alabama, went with Auburn over USC, officially announcing Wednesday afternoon.
We’re keeping track of it all here and will update throughout the day. All star rankings listed are taken from the 247Sports composite ratings.
USC SIGNEES OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
T.J. Sanders, DL
Three stars | 6-foot-4, 285 pounds | Marion, South Carolina
The highest-rated in-state recruit in the class, Sanders committed to the Gamecocks way back on July 4 and stuck with them even through the coaching change to Shane Beamer. While he elected to wait until February to sign, his commitment never wavered, despite offers from Tennessee, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and others. Sanders made it to the state championship in his senior season, boosting Marion with team highs in tackles for loss (18) and sacks (6). He’s also an all-state basketball player.
Kolbe Fields, LB
Three stars | 6-foot-1, 205 pounds | Metairie, Louisiana
Fields joined USC’s class in early January as part of a run of three commitments in a single day. The lone high schooler of that bunch, the New Orleans native got offers from Memphis, Purdue, Oklahoma State and Houston too. He had 58 tackles, 6 for loss and two sacks this season for Archbishop Rummel High School.
“I was excited,” Fields said after the Gamecocks initially offered him. “That was my first SEC offer. I was ecstatic. I told (Beamer), ‘I appreciate you so much.’ I can’t tell you how many times I thanked him and the whole coaching staff. This is almost life-saving.”
La’Dareyen Craig
Three stars | 6-foot-2, 175 pounds | Mobile, Alabama
Craig brings length and height to a position of need for South Carolina, and the late-blooming prospect put up good numbers in his senior season — nine pass break-ups and three interceptions in eight games. That and his blazing speed — he’s gone under 11 seconds in the 100 meter dash — earned him offers from Mississippi State and Oregon State, but the Gamecocks were his first Power 5 offer.
Tavareon Martin-Scott
Unranked | 6-foot-3, 220 pounds | Fort Wayne, Indiana
Nicknamed “Bam” because of his July 4th birthday and the fireworks that come with it, Martin-Scott is unranked in the 247Sports composite in the class of 2022, but he decided to sign and join the Gamecocks a year early. A junior college product, he led Dodge City College in Kansas with 3 ½ sacks and was second with 42 tackles in 2019. He also forced two fumbles and picked off a pass. The Conquistadors didn’t play a fall season in 2020, but he picked up offers and interest from Mississippi State, West Virginia and Texas Tech.
TRANSFERS
Jason Brown, QB
Saint Francis | 6-foot-4, 230 pounds | Fredericksburg, Virginia
An honorable mention All-American at the FCS level, Brown put up big numbers in 2019 — 251 of 403 on passing attempts for 3,084 yards and 28 touchdowns. And he was named to the preseason all-conference team before COVID-19 struck and canceled the season. But with his elite size and production, Brown is capable of playing on the SEC level, along with his teammate listed below, Beamer said.
“Some teams certainly dropped the ball in recruiting when those guys were coming out of high school,” Beamer said. “When you watch their tape, they are SEC football players and we couldn’t be more ecstatic about their confidence and faith in us.”
EJ Jenkins, WR
Saint Francis | 6-foot-8, 235 pounds | Fredericksburg, Virginia
Jenkins, the high school and FCS teammate of Brown mentioned above, also put up big numbers at Saint Francis, recording a school-record 13 touchdown receptions off 39 catches for 779 yards. And he’s absolutely massive at 6-foot-8, which will make him the tallest player on the entire roster. No other wide receiver is more than 6-foot-5. His ability to win jump balls on the outside will likely be welcome after the Gamecocks leaned heavily on the smaller Shi Smith this past year, who fit best in the slot.
Ahmarean Brown, WR
Georgia Tech | 5-foot-10, 170 pounds | Tampa, Florida
Brown has the potential to be a high-impact player right away for the Gamecocks at a position of need. At Georgia Tech, he caught 33 passes for 619 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons and was the team’s top pass catcher in 2019, averaging 18.9 yards per catch and reaching the end zone seven times to tie the program’s freshman record set by all-time great Calvin Johnson.
“He brings speed and big-play ability that we need on the perimeter,” Beamer said.
David Spaulding, DB
Georgia Southern | 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, | Riceboro, Georgia
Spaulding will reunite at South Carolina with his high school teammate, running back Kevin Harris, who exploded onto the national scene when given the opportunity this season. Spaulding will likely have opportunities too, as the Gamecocks desperately need depth in their defensive back room.
“Everyone in America is looking for defensive backs with some size, speed and length. He has all that. He will help us at another position of need. We are thin on numbers in the secondary for different reasons, so that is a big get for us,” Beamer said.
Jordan Strachan, LB
Georgia State | 6-foot-4, 225 pounds | Kingsland, Georgia
Strachan (pronounced STRAHN) walked on at Georgia State and blossomed into a star — this past season, he set school records with 10.5 sacks, tied for most in FBS, and 14.5 tackles for loss. He was also part of a defense that set a school record with 35 sacks.
Strachan will be a redshirt junior at USC and help bolster a pass rushing unit that finished tied for 109th in sacks per game this past season.
Jahkeem Green, DL
Nebraska | 6-foot-5, 320 pounds | Sumter, South Carolina
Green was a Gamecock commit in junior college before ending up at Nebraska. Now, he has a chance to finish his college career in South Carolina. His winding path from Sumter to Kansas to Lincoln has toughened him up, Beamer said.
“He has a story that has hardened him along the way at different stops he has had. … We know what this place means to people from South Carolina. And to have a guy that has always wanted to be at Carolina but had to take a different avenue to get here is impressive,” Beamer said.
Darryl “Debo” Williams, LB
Delaware | 6-foot-0.5, 210 pounds | Smyrna, Delaware
Williams signed with FCS Delaware in 2019 but never actually got to play with the Blue Hens after their season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But current Gamecock MarShawn Lloyd, also a Delaware native, knew him from their high school days and urged Beamer to take a look. It doesn’t hurt that linebacker is a position of need for USC as it loses stalwart Ernest Jones to the NFL.
“You turn on his video and you are like, ‘Oh my gosh, how did he not get recruited by ACC, SEC, Big Ten schools?’ Really impressive video and high school career. He is a guy that is all business,” Beamer said.
EARLY ENROLLEES
Nicholas Barrett, DL
Three stars | 6-foot-3, 329 pounds | Goldsboro, North Carolina
Barrett didn’t get to play his senior year as North Carolina canceled its high school football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a junior, however, the big man put up 70 total tackles and 15 sacks in just 11 games. He’s the largest player in the class and will provide a lot of size in the middle of the USC’s talented defensive line corps.
Sam Reynolds, WR
Three stars | 5-foot-8, 170 pounds | Alabaster, Alabama
An explosive athlete with a 4.51 40-yard dash to his name, Reynolds is a burner who put up big numbers in his senior season for a 14-0, state title-winning squad. Between running and catch the ball, he has more than 750 all-purpose yards with 13 touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per rush and 17.9 yards per catch.
Jordan Davis, OL
Three stars | 6-foot-5, 300 pounds | Fairburn, Georgia
The first offensive lineman to join the recruiting class, Davis picked the Gamecocks over offers from Georgia Tech, Kansas and Akron. As part of a 7-3 squad his senior season, Davis helped block for a rushing attack that put up 283.9 yards per game and 5.9 yards per carry, leading to 28 touchdowns on the ground.
Marcellas Dial, DB
Three stars | 5-foot-11, 177 pounds | Woodruff, South Carolina
Dial is currently at Georgia Military College, but he played his high school ball in the Palmetto State, at Woodruff. He’s one of the top 50 JUCO recruits in the country and top 10 at his position. He hasn’t played this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but in his first year at GMC, he broke up five passes and intercepted one in 11 games.
Colton Gauthier, QB
Three stars | 6-foot-3, 214 pounds | Dacula, Georgia
The Gamecocks’ lone high school signal caller in the class, Gauthier comes from Hebron Christian Academy and is the 23rd-ranked pro-style passer in the class, per 247Sports. He passed for more than 2,000 yards in each of his last three high school seasons, racking 61 touchdowns in that span against 34 interceptions, with a 54.7% completion rate.
SIGNED, NOT ON CAMPUS
JonDarius Morgan, OL
Three stars | 6-foot-4, 305 pounds | Birmingham, Alabama
With an offer sheet including the likes of Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Syracuse, Morgan was one of a crush of commits to pick South Carolina in late June and early July this past summer. His recruitment was relatively under-the-radar for a long time before his film picked the 300-pounder up a slew of offers, with South Carolina the first from the Power 5 ranks.
Caleb McDowell, RB
Three stars | 5-foot-8, 180 pounds | Leesburg, Georgia
McDowell joins a South Carolina backfield featuring one of the SEC’s top rushers in sophomore Kevin Harris and one of the most highly touted backs in last year’s class in freshman MarShawn Lloyd. But the 47th-ranked back in his class, who also held offers from Purdue, NC State, Indiana and Colorado, is no slouch in his own right. He’s a speedy, explosive player who contributes on offense, defense and special teams — in his senior regular season, he carried the ball 105 times for 800 yards and caught it 10 times for 140 yards, with 16 touchdowns combined.
O’Mega Blake, WR
Three stars | 6-foot-1, 188 pounds | Rock Hill, South Carolina
The top-rated receiver recruit in the class, Blake was offered by 17 Power 5 programs, including the Gamecocks. A tall, speedy prospect, he went for more than 1,300 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns as a junior, including 800 and six through the air. As a senior, he took over as his team’s quarterback and helped guide them to a 6-3 record.
Isaiah Norris, DB
Three stars | 6-foot, 170 pounds | Anderson, South Carolina
The junior college teammate of Marcellas Dial, Norris announced his commitment to the Gamecocks on Christmas Day. And like Dial, his roots are in the Palmetto State — he played his high school ball at TL Hanna, where he was teammates with current USC defensive lineman Zacch Pickens. On the JUCO level, he recorded four interceptions in 2019.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
