Former Gamecocks recruit explains why he flipped to Colorado, Deion Sanders
A former South Carolina football recruit has a new future home, and he’ll be suiting up in college for an NFL Hall of Famer.
One-time Gamecocks wide receiver commitment Jaiden Kelly-Murray announced a new pledge to Colorado and coach Deion Sanders at a ceremony Monday in North Charleston.
Kelly-Murray, a four-star Class of 2027 recruit and the No. 6 player in the state of South Carolina per 247Sports, had previously committed to coach Shane Beamer and USC on March 13. That pledge lasted just one month.
The slot receiver announced his decommitment from South Carolina on April 13, telling Rivals he felt like he’d “rushed” into a decision ahead of his senior year.
On Memorial Day, he announced his new pick: Colorado, where Sanders (the former NFL star also known as “Coach Prime”) has coached since 2023. Kelly-Murray picked Colorado over finalists Illinois, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
“I talked to Coach Prime and when you talk to a Hall of Fame coach that’s been in the league and NFL and he gives you advice, it’s hard to not take that and want to be coached under a coach just like that,” Kelly-Murray told 247Sports.
A chance to ‘get outside of my comfort zone’
Kelly-Murray (5-10, 170) will play his senior season at Oceanside Collegiate Academy and was previously a standout player at Summerville High School.
He had 81 catches for 1,202 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore and 957 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. Kelly-Murray has averaged 104.6 all-purpose yards per game over the past two seasons and scored 31 total touchdowns.
Kelly-Murray had scheduled summer official visits to all four of his new finalists (Colorado, Illinois, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest). Now that he’s committed to CU, though, he said he’ll drop his other visits and only take a trip to Boulder.
In a post-commitment interview with 247Sports, Kelly-Murray also elaborated on his decision to decommit from South Carolina after just one month.
He’d previously expressed excitement about suiting up for an SEC school in his home state but said the opportunity to leave South Carolina ntrigued him.
Colorado, which competes in the Big 12 and was 3-9 and 1-8 in conference play last year, is about 1,700 miles and two time zones away from his hometown.
“When I committed to South Carolina originally, it’s less than two hours from where I live,” Kelly-Murray told the website. “Going to Colorado, I feel like I can grow as a person and feel uncomfortable and get outside of my comfort zone. I’ll be doing things that I’ve never done before.”
