4-star defensive recruit delivers Christmas commitment for Gamecocks
South Carolina fans got an unexpected Christmas gift on Thursday.
Just two days after the news that the Gamecocks hired DEs/OLB coach Deion Barnes away from Penn State and that edge Dylan Stewart will stay in Columbia, South Carolina’s holiday surge of good news kept flowing.
On Christmas Day, the Gamecocks landed their first commitment in the Class of 2027 as four-star safety Jernard Albright chose South Carolina over Georgia Tech, Michigan, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
A native of Springfield, Georgia, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound defensive back made 50 tackles and had a pair of interceptions as a junior — including a 109-yard Pick-6 back in October.
To its credit, South Carolina was the first Power-4 school to offer Albright, handing him an offer in May. A few months later, he told Rivals that South Carolina was the school standing out the most.
“I hear a lot from them,” he told Rivals’ reporter Chad Simmons. “(Defensive backs) coach Torrian Gray texts me and my mom a lot. He’s definitely a good guy, doesn’t lie, and is real about the program. He makes me feel like a top guy and I feel like he can develop players.”
Albright went on to say that the Gamecocks — along with Ole Miss and Michigan — were recruiting him as a “hybrid” — or “a mix of safety and linebacker,” he said.
In any case, Albright’s Christmas Day decision gives South Carolina a nice early recruiting boost.
