South Carolina near or at the top of Tennessee tight end’s list

Brentwood, Tenn., tight end Gavin Schoenwald of has been strong on South Carolina since the beginning of his recruiting process.

The Gamecocks have remained strong contenders even as his offer list has grown to 13 and when he gets down to a shortlist of five or fewer, he said the Gamecocks will be in his top two for sure. Schoenwald is not ready to go public with the rest of his list. That will come later this summer after some more visits including another stop at USC.

Schoenwald has had Bobby Bentley and Pat Washington in his ears from USC and he was back on the phone with Washington Tuesday night.

“Every since my first visit, South Carolina has been near the top if not at the top,” Schoenwald said. “The biggest thing with me and them is I’m not even committed yet but I’ve already bought into what they believe in what they see themselves being in three to five years. I just really believe in the vision that Muschamp has for the program and the school as a whole. I truly do believe a lot of the stuff that Coach Bentley said to me, Coach Washington and Coach Muschamp. I trust those guys and I believe in what they’re doing.”

Schoenwald plans to hit the road again in June with USC a definite stop. He’s also going to visit Vanderbilt and possibly Ole Miss which also is high up on his list. And his focus moving forward will be on SEC schools.

“I grew up watching SEC football and to me SEC football is the best of the best and I want to play with and against the best of the best,” he said. “I’m very, very serious about South Carolina, I’m very, very serious about Vanderbilt as well. And Ole Miss, and Auburn as well. Those four, I would say, are the ones, not a final list but those are the ones I’m talking to the most and are talking to me the most and sparking the most interest now.”

Schoenwald would like to make his decision before his season as his school goes for a third straight state championship. He’s looking at the end of July or early August for that.

Notes:

▪  Greensboro, N.C. wide receiver Tre’ Turner plans to announce his college decision Wednesday night. USC was one of his final ten along with North Carolina, Ole Miss, NC State, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Florida State, Louisville and Miami. Turner is a two-sport prospect and plans to play basketball in college as well.

▪  Spring Valley linebacker and South Carolina target Channing Tindall plans to visit Auburn this weekend for the Big Cat Weekend, a social gathering for top Auburn prospects. Channing is being recruited by Auburn linebackers coach Travis Williams, a former Spring Valley star.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 11:36 AM.