Gamecocks, Beamer flip commit from rival Georgia to continue recruiting hot streak
Shane Beamer and his staff are on a roll.
Monday, Beamer and Co. notched their third commitment in the last four days, flipping three-star linebacker Donovan Westmoreland from the Georgia Bulldogs.
Westmoreland made a personal visit to USC for the spring game in late April. After experiencing that, he started to have a strong feeling Columbia was where he wanted to be.
“Georgia wasn’t keeping in touch with me that much. We were just separating,” Westmoreland said. “South Carolina, the head coach, coach (Mike) Peterson, coach (Jimmy) Lindsey, all of those were keeping in touch with me every day, having conversations and checking on me. The bond grew. And coach Lindsey and coach Peterson know my former coaches at Griffin High. It was only right. I saw the consistency and it opened my eyes a lot.”
Westmoreland is rated the No. 390 player and No. 30 outside linebacker in the 2022 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings that factor in all networks. 247Sports’ in-house ratings have him slotted as a four-star prospect and the No. 224 player in the class.
As a junior, Westmoreland accrued 84 tackles — including 23 for a loss — in 12 games at Griffin High School just outside Atlanta.
“They can’t wait for me to come off the edge and make a great impact,” Westmoreland said of the USC coaches. “If I just come in and do what I have to do, I can get some early playing time. Everybody wants to hurry up and get on the field.”
Westmoreland becomes the third player to pledge to the Gamecocks in the last four days. Four-star quarterback Braden Davis announced his commitment to South Carolina on Friday over a top seven that included Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Stanford, West Virginia and N.C. State.
Davis, rated the No. 186 player in the 2022 class and the No. 5 dual-threat quarterback, is the fourth four-star quarterback recruit to commit to the Gamecocks in the last six classes.
South Carolina also landed a commitment over the weekend from Washington State transfer safety Tyrese Ross. Ross, who was initially committed to Mississippi State, out of high school, is an old school, hard-hitting defensive back on the tail end of the secondary.
The Jacksonville, Florida native finished his time in Pullman with 35 tackles, one tackle for a loss and a forced fumble in 17 games played.
Ahead of Westmoreland’s commitment, the Gamecocks had the nation’s No. 42-ranked recruiting class and the No. 11 class in the Southeastern Conference.
— Phil Kornblut contributed to this story
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
