South Carolina football lands three-star tight end prospect from Florida
Coach Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football team landed a tight end commitment from the Sunshine State.
Preston Douglas of The Benjamin School (Fla.) verbally committed to the Gamecocks on Wednesday, a few days after his official visit to USC. He is the 10th USC commit for the Class of 2025 and the third on the offensive side.
“They are just great people and amazing coaches that are gonna push me to be the best,” Douglas told The State on Wednesday. “They believed in me when some other schools didn’t. And I really appreciate that. The official visit definitely sealed things up. South Carolina feels like home and I can’t wait to get back.”
Some of Douglas’ other offers were from North Carolina State, Maryland, Appalachian State, Indiana, Syracuse and Wake Forest. NC State and USC were the only schools he visited.
Douglas visited USC in April and came away impressed. Tight ends coach Shawn Elliott handled Douglas’ recruiting for the Gamecocks.
“You can tell they are eager to get better,” Douglas told SportsTalk’s Phil Kornblut after the April visit. “They are on a rise right now. I think Coach Beamer is a really good coach and he knows what he does. Most importantly, the tight ends coach and offensive coordinator are great people with a lot of experience, head coaching experience and NFL experience. There’s a lot that could go good there.”
The Gamecocks’ 2025 class is currently No. 38 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings and should jump to No. 34 overall after Douglas’ commitment is factored in.
On3 ranks Douglas as a three-star prospect and the 43rd-best tight end in the Class of 2025. The 247Sports composite has him as a three-star, the No. 66 tight end and No. 1,164 overall recruit.
Douglas was a two-player last year for Jupiter High School, catching 23 passes for 405 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing six games because of a broken collarbone. On defense, he had 28 tackles, a sack and an interception.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder transferred from Jupiter to The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach over the winter and will play his senior season of football there this fall.
South Carolina football class of 2025
This story was originally published June 12, 2024 at 3:25 PM.
