South Carolina nabs 2024 three-star defender out of Georgia for latest commit
South Carolina has added another Georgia product to its 2024 class.
Three-star defender David Bucey of Savannah Christian School announced his commitment to USC on Monday night over offers that included Georgia Tech, Iowa State, West Virginia, Tulane, Appalachian State, and others.
Bucey was in Columbia for a prospect camp earlier this month and is scheduled to return to South Carolina for an official visit this weekend. He’s currently rated the No. 98 linebacker prospect in the 2024 class, per 247Sports. South Carolina is recruiting him as a safety.
“It’s an awesome place. The campus is beautiful, and the facilities are great,” Bucey said. “The best part about it is the coaches. They are doing a great job with who they higher. Everybody is very personable and great to talk to. They do the right things.”
As a junior, Bucey was named the Georgia 3-AAA Athlete of the Year, helping Savannah Christian to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. He played both ways last fall, notching 100 tackles — 18 for a loss — five interceptions and four sacks, along with another 747 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.
“There was a lot about the academics and learned a lot about NIL,” Bucey said of the Gamecocks. “The one thing that I was impressed about was the strength program with Coach (Luke) Day. What he’s doing there is really nice. They are putting some muscle on some people, that’s for sure — some mental muscle you could say.”
USC assistant Jody Wright handled the bulk of the recruiting of Bucey for the Gamecocks. He got him into camp earlier this month so that Beamer and the defensive staff could see him for themselves.
“As a game standpoint, I’ve got good instincts and my feel speaks for itself,” Bucey said. “They love the way I play. When I went to that camp, Coach (Torrian) Gray was coaching me and said I moved very well. He was impressed by the way I move.”
Bucey is the second Savannah area product to land in the Gamecocks’ 2024 class along with four-star tight end Michael Smith (Calvary Day School)
Bucey’s commitment could also stand to have ramifications beyond this year’s recruiting cycle. He’s teammates with 2025 five-star defensive lineman Elijah Griffin — the No. 1 player in next year’s class, per the 247Sports Composite. South Carolina has been on Griffin heavily for the last year-plus and should be in the mix for his services whenever decision time comes.
— Phil Kornblut contributed to this story
South Carolina football 2024 commits
July 2, 2022: QB Dante Reno — Windsor, Conn.
Jan. 22: OT Kam Pringle — Dorchester, SC
Jan. 24: TE Michael Smith — Savannah, Ga.
Jan. 27: LB Wendell Gregory — Marietta, Ga.
Feb. 3: WR Mazeo Bennett — Greenville, SC
March 31: OL Blake Franks — Greenville, SC
April 14: OL Josiah Thompson — Dillon, SC
April 19: DB Kelvin Hunter — Florence, SC
April 19: CB Braydon Lee — Upper Marlboro, Md.
June 12: P Mason Love — Riverside, Mo.
June 17: LB Fred Johnson — Norfolk, Va.
June 23: RB Matthew Fuller — Jesup, Ga.
June 26: DB David Bucey — Savannah, Ga.
This story was originally published June 26, 2023 at 8:45 PM.
