North Carolina linebacker Derek Boykins commits to Gamecocks football
South Carolina Gamecocks football has picked up a commitment from three-star Concord N.C., linebacker Derek Boykins.
He's part of a big group of prospects visiting USC this weekend. He is the No. 480 player nationally in the 247 Composite rankings, 30th among outside linebackers and 17th in the state of North Carolina. He chose USC over offers from Clemson, Texas, A&M, Louisville, Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, NC State, North Carolina, Kentucky and others.
"Once we got to Coach Muschamp's house, I was like, yeah, I'm fixing to do it," Boykins said. "I didn't really have no relationship like that with no other head coach. When we were going to Clemson I only talked to Dabo (Swinney) one time. Tennessee, talked to Coach Pruitt like twice. But like Muschamp, it was really every day."
Boykins said he first told linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler of his commitment and then they went to Muschamp.
"He said it was about time," Boykins said. "I feel good. I feel like this was what it was supposed to be all along. They are really looking at my versatility. I'm not a 240 (pound) linebacker and I'm not a 200 pound linebacker. I just weighed in at 225. I can still move. I can still run. He said I can play all over. I can play Sam. I can play Will. Mike. I can play the Dime. They mainly look at me for the Dime right now."
Boykins lived in Beaufort until the age of 6 and has said he grew up a Gamecock fan.
“I grew up a Gamecock," Boykins said earlier in the process. "I’ve got a South Carolina wallet, had a DJ Swearinger jersey, had a Marcus Lattimore jersey, had a little shirt that had Connor Shaw on it."
He's the 14th member of the 2019 class, a group that pushed into the top five nationally on Friday with the commitment of four-star defensive end Joseph Anderson. The Boykins news pushed it to No. 3.
"The class is great," he said. "Honestly, all these big D-linemen we got, like (Zacch) Pickens and them. I had a conversation with him and he's like, 'We're going to keep the lineman off you.' That's going to give us time to run and make plays at linebacker. I talked to Jammie (Robinson). He wanted to take some more officials and then he'll do what he do. I feel like everybody had a great time. I feel like everybody fit in where we at. That's a good spot. Can't go nowhere but up."
Boykins said the commitment ends his recruiting and won't take any more visits. He is taking his official visit to USC this weekend and he is in with his parents and his siblings.
This story was originally published June 2, 2018 at 4:44 PM with the headline "North Carolina linebacker Derek Boykins commits to Gamecocks football."