Analysis: South Carolina’s 2022 class rises to Top 15 status. What does that mean?
Shane Beamer has done it again.
Are we surprised though? We probably shouldn’t be. At this point, recruiting success is a seeming daily occurrence around Columbia.
On Tuesday, the first-year head coach and his staff reeled in their largest fish to date in the form of 2022 four-star cornerback Keenan Nelson Jr. out of Philadelphia. Nelson chose the Gamecocks over a laundry list of offers that included Penn State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Arizona State.
His pledge also moved South Carolina’s 2022 class rank to No. 15 nationally and No. 5 in the Southeastern Conference. That’s according to the 247Sports Composite Top 25 that factors in all networks’ rankings — Rivals currently has the Gamecocks at No. 13.
“Everything that I’ve heard is that players are excited by the enthusiasm,” Adam Friedman, Rivals’ national recruiting analyst and rankings director, said of how recruits have adjusted to Beamer and his assistants. “They like the youthful energy that these guys are bringing in. It comes from the head coach — it comes from Shane Beamer.”
So what all do those rankings mean? Part of the equation is numbers.
247Sports’ team rankings take heavy stock in how many prospects a program has committed. South Carolina, for example, currently has 16 pledges in the 2022 class, more than every team ranked below it in the SEC aside from Vanderbilt (18 commits) and Arkansas (16). Whether a commitment is a three-, four- or five-star prospect also weighs into the team recruiting rankings.
History suggests teams that stockpile players quickly tend to benefit from early bumps in the recruiting rankings, before falling a smidge as other classes around the conference and country fill out.
Should things hold, though, South Carolina is on pace for its best recruiting finish in years. The Gamecocks have never finished higher than 15th in 247Sports’ final team rankings since 2010. South Carolina did earn a top-20 finish in the rankings five times over that span and averaged a finish of No. 21 nationally if the 2021 class, which ranked 80th nationwide, is factored out.
USC’s only top-10 team recruiting finish came with Steve Spurrier’s 2007 signing class that included Chris Culliver, Stephen Garcia, Quintin Richardson, Brian Maddox and Cliff Matthews.
“I wanted to hire great coaches, great people first and foremost,” Beamer told The State earlier this spring. “But then recruiting was, the more areas that they have been a part of the better, obviously.”
With 16 high school pledges already secured and the season just a month and a half away, recruiting figures to slow down some as the Sept. 4 season opener against Eastern Illinois grows nearer.
South Carolina should have roughly seven spots left in its class this cycle. Some of those slots figure to be reserved for transfer portal additions after the season. The rest? Beamer and his staff can be picky.
The Gamecocks remain competitive for four-star Georgia tight end Oscar Delp, whose family hails from the Columbia area. USC also has a legitimate shot at four-star defensive lineman Dominick “Nick” James out of IMG Academy in Florida.
“I think you want to have your foundation in place going into fall camp,” 247Sports’ director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong told The State. “I think South Carolina can head into the season feeling good about where they’re out on the trail with, you know, the guys that they’ve attacked and who they’ve gotten to say, ‘Yes.’ “
Given the early nature of recruiting, there also figures to be some attrition in the class. The staff may identify a player later in the process they feel is a better fit than one added earlier. Prospects also may simply feel they’re better off at another school. It’s all part of the never-ending recruiting process.
For now, Beamer and his staff are stockpiling talent at an elite rate. Twelve commits in 12 days in June surely helped. Nelson’s pledge was just the latest reason for excitement in Columbia.
If South Carolina can maintain the momentum its gained through June and into July, the Gamecocks are staring at one of their historically high finishes in the 2022 recruiting rankings. For a team coming off a 2-8 season, that’s as good as it gets.
