South Carolina lands commitment from highest-rated recruit of Shane Beamer era
South Carolina has landed the biggest commitment of the Shane Beamer era.
Four-star linebacker Jaishawn Barham out of District Heights, Maryland announced his pledge to USC on Saturday on Instagram.
Barham is the No. 108 player and No. 8 linebacker in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, and is the highest-rated player to commit to the Gamecocks since Beamer took over as head coach last year.
He chose South Carolina over an offer sheet that included Penn State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
Beamer and Maryland coach Michael Locksley both met with Barham late this week to make their final pitches. And Gamecocks defensive ends coach Mike Peterson also did some of the heavy lifting in recruiting Barham.
“He’s a very passionate player, quiet and reserved to himself, but Jaishawn is a relationship type of guy, and Coach Peterson did a great job of recruiting him,” St. Frances coach Messay Hailemariam said. “I feel he was the difference maker. He built a rapport that was separate. You could tell that he was the strongest with him. You could see the glove fitting.”
Barham, who plays at Maryland powerhouse St. Frances Academy, plugs a major need at linebacker in this cycle. The Gamecocks could lose as many as five of their 13 linebackers from the 2021 roster depending on NFL Draft and postgraduate decisions.
Athletically, Barham has been clocked at a 4.58 40-yard dash and a 30-inch vertical jump.
“Good frame with ability to add mass and size,” 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Brian Dohn wrote of Barham. “Plays outside linebacker in high school but style is suited to move inside in college. High level athlete with elite change of direction ability. Very good at sifting through traffic in the box to locate ball carrier. Hits gaps quickly. Highly active in running game and pursues well.“
Barham is the third linebacker to commit to South Carolina in the 2022 class along with three-star Irmo standout Nick Emmanwori — who could also play safety at the next level — and former Georgia commit Donovan Westmoreland.
South Carolina’s 2022 class is now back up to 19 commitments with Barham’s pledge. It had previously dropped to 18 commits after three-star Florida safety pledge Jy’Vonte McClendon was dropped in relation to a pair of felony charges stemming from an incident last week.
The Gamecocks’ 2022 class ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 8 in the Southeastern Conference after Barham’s pledge.
As for what the Gamecocks are getting in Barham, his coach described him with one word.
“Electric,” he said. “He is the whole package. He is the athlete that you want, the dog that you want. He does everything on a high level. He plays the game the right way. He can walk up and go after the quarterback, or he can drop back and get a pick and athletic enough to go score a touchdown.”
— Phil Kornblut contributed to this story
South Carolinas top 5 commitments for 2020
According to 247Sports Composite that factors in all recruiting rankings.
1. Jaishawn Barham, LB, District Heights, Md., 4 stars
2. Keenan Nelson, DB, Philadelphia, 4 stars
3. Braden Davis, QB, Middletown, Del., 4 stars
4. Antony Rose, DB, Miami, 3 stars
5. Emory Floyd, DB, Powder Springs, Ga., 3 stars
South Carolina recruiting Class of 2022
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
