South Carolina football lands versatile, in-state tight end for recruiting class
South Carolina football has added another in-state commitment to its 2026 recruiting class.
Cross High athlete Caden Ramsey committed to the Gamecocks on Monday afternoon in a ceremony at his school. Ramsey picked USC over Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
He led the state in interceptions last season, but he’s expected to play offense in college.
Said Ramsey during his commitment announcement: “Coach Beamer and Coach Elliott, thank you for taking a chance on a young kid from Cross. Go Cocks.”
Ramsey had a little fun with the crowd as he made his announcement. First he picked up the Syracuse hat from the table and put it on before throwing it down.
Ramsey did the same with the Virginia Tech hat before grabbing the Gamecocks’ hat. All of the friends and family that were with him at the table immediately switched to South Carolina apparel.
“I just did that just to get a little track in them to see where they thought I was going to go or not,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey — who plays tight end/wide receiver and safety for Cross — is the 16th commitment for the Class of 2026 and seventh from South Carolina. USC offered him a scholarship in June. He visited the campus again for Saturday’s game against South Carolina State.
Ramsey said he let Shane Beamer know of his decision more than a month ago. He will take his official visit this weekend for the Gamecocks’ SEC opener against Vanderbilt.
Caden Ramsey is ‘an all-around athlete’
Ramsey’s announcement was a big deal for Cross, South Carolina, a small town about 90 minutes southeast of Columbia in Berkeley County.
Cross coach Shaun Wright has had several college players come through since he has been there since 2009 but none of the magnitude of Ramsey, who is the first Power Four commit during that time.
“He is just an all-around athlete,” Wright said. “He is somebody that is going to compete from whistle to whistle. He is going to the rise to the occassion when somebody challenges him. He has that dog in him.”
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Ramsey is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and On3/Rivals and is a versatile athlete. On offense, he plays tight end/receiver, and defensively he is a ball-hawking safety at Cross, a Class A school that played for a state championship last season.
Where he could play for the Gamecocks
The Gamecocks like Ramsey as a tight end and he worked out for tight ends coach this summer at a camp.
In the first two games this season, Ramsey has 10 tackles and two interceptions and has caught 10 passes for 194 yards and two TDs. He also has a 77-yard kickoff return.
As a junior, Ramsey caught 40 passes for 749 yards and nine touchdowns. Defensively, he picked off a state-best 14 passes and had 54 tackles.
Ramsey also is an accomplished basketball player and averaged 15.9 points and 9.8 rebounds last season. He is closing in on 1,000 points in his high school career and also runs track.
Ramsey will not enroll in Janaury so he can finish playing basketball but is ready to make his mark for the Gamecocks.
“I’m going to come with a lot and trying to get some playing time,” Ramsey said. “Coming from a little town called Cross, a lot of people don’t know about us. They are going to know about us now ’cause Caden Ramsey made the right choice.”
South Carolina 2026 football commitments (16)
Anthony Baxter (OL) — Committed on May 5, 2024
Keenan Britt (DE) — Committed on Aug. 5, 2024
Jamel Howse (TE) — Committed on Oct. 5, 2024
J’zavien Currence (DB) Committed on Oct. 17, 2024
Zyon Guiles (OL) — committed on March 20, 2025
Aiden Harris (DL) — committed on June 7, 2025
Andrew Harris (LB) — committed on June 7, 2025
KJ Johnson (DB) — committed on June 9, 2025
Sequel Patterson (WR) — committed on June 26, 2025
Noah Clark (DL) — committed on July 2, 2025
Triston Lewis (DB) — committed on July 17, 2025
Landon Duckworth (QB) — committed on July 18, 2025
Kosci Barnes (DB) — committed on July 26, 2025
Amari Thomas (RB) — committed on Aug. 8, 2025
Darius Gray (OL) — committed on Aug. 22, 2025
Caden Ramsey (TE/S) — committed on Sept. 8, 2025
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 12:38 PM.
