Gamecocks make top six for five-star, top-30 national recruit

The South Carolina football team and Bobby Bentley have done yeoman’s work in building recruiting momentum in the state of Tennessee.

That work has them at least at the table with five-star defensive end Reggie Grimes.

The No. 28 player in the 247 Sports composite rankings tweeted out his top six, which included the Gamecocks, Alabama, LSU, Florida State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt. He hails from Mount Juliet, Tennessee, an eastern suburb of Nashville.

He told the Tennessean part of the reason for his timing was Clemson telling him they were done at the linebacker spot.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is the No. 1-ranked player in his state and No. 3 weakside defensive end in the country.

As a junior, he made 48 tackles, three for loss, one sack and had 11 quarterback hurries. He was part of a defense that allowed 6.6 poinds per game.

His father played football for Alabama in the late 1990s.

The Gamecocks have pulled some talent out of the Volunteer State of late. Last cycle, they got four-stars Joseph Anderson (the No. 2 player in Tennessee) and Keveon Mullins (the No. 9 player).