South Carolina’s highest-rated 2021 recruit flips commitment to Georgia Tech
South Carolina football has lost its top recruit in the 2021 class.
Georgia linebacker Trenilyas Tatum announced Wednesday he was decommitting 10 days after the Gamecocks fired coach Will Muschamp, and he flipped his pledge to Georgia Tech. Tatum was the lone four-star in South Carolina’s class that was once ranked in mid-40s in the 247Sports national rankings.
His decision puts USC at 91st in the country in the rankings. TCU is the only Power 5 school ranked lower, and the Horned Frogs have eight commits.
The interim staff is trying to hold the class together through a coaching search. Tatum is the sixth recruit to break his commitment to the Gamecocks since Nov. 15.
Tatum hasn’t played this year after dealing with multiple knee procedures. As a junior, he had 91 tackles last season with 31 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.
He is the No. 344 player in the country and the No. 25 outside linebacker. His offers included Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
His departure knocks the Gamecocks down to 10 commitments.
The national team rankings are based on a few factors, one of them being total members. USC’s number of commitments is a conference low, but the weight of the class is also pulled down by having no prospect with a four-star rating. By comparison, Auburn has 13 commitments (six of them four-star prospects), and the Tigers rank No. 20 nationally and No. 7 in the conference.
Recruit attrition is a normal part of the process when coaches change, but the particularities of this season and the early signing period make things exceptionally tricky. With the season pushed back several weeks, rather than ending this week or next, many coaches will still be working right before or even after the signing period starts on Dec. 16.
The SEC wraps regular season play Dec. 5, and many conference title games are Dec. 19. Whoever the Gamecocks hire after firing Muschamp will have to do quick work to either get some of the decommits back in the fold or turn quickly to refilling the class for the February signing period.
South Carolina’s 2021 class
QB Colten Gauthier
RB Caleb McDowell
WR Sam Reynolds
WR Omega Blake
WR Derwin Burgess
OL Jordan Davis
OL JonDarius Morgan
DL Nick Barrett
DL TJ Sanders
DB Marcellas Dial
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 6:28 PM.
