South Carolina in top 10 for defensive lineman. He gets genuine feel from coaches

Saint Augustine, Florida three-star defensive tackle Luther McCoy (6-foot-4, 280 pounds) released his top 10 and South Carolina made his short list. The Gamecocks are joined by Nebraska, Minnesota, Florida State, Tennessee, Duke, Georgia Tech, Baylor, NC State and Penn State. McCoy has not visited South Carolina so all he knows about the Gamecocks has come from his own due diligence and conversations with defensive line coach Tracy Rocker and head coach Will Muschamp.

“I talk to coach Tracy Rocker and Will Muschamp every now and then,” McCoy said. “I like the personalities. Especially Coach Rocker. He would be my coach. He’s a real good dude. He likes that I play hard, am athletic and strong. I’m explosive.”

McCoy said from his conversations with Rocker and Muschamp, he gets a good feeling about the staff.

“It’s close knit and I feel like it’s genuine, the coaches and staff,” McCoy said. “I talk to them whenever they want me, and I’m interested in them.”

McCoy said he doesn’t have a timeline for a decision. He said Tennessee and Baylor are the two schools making the strongest push for him, but he still wants to learn more about all the schools before making a decision.

“Look into each school even more and grow my relationship with the coaches,” McCoy said.

In the 247Sports Composite, McCoy is ranked the No. 62 defensive tackle prospect in the country and the 167th-rated prospect in Florida in his class.

Notes:

▪ South Carolina tight end target Jalen Shead of Olive Branch, Mississippi plans to name his top 5 Friday. He’s had a top 10 of USC, Alabama, Florida State, Southern Cal, UCF, LSU, Ole Miss, Kansas State, TCU and Arkansas.

▪ USC target wide receiver Malachi Bennett of Fairfield, Alabama has moved his commitment date from August 28th to a week from Friday. He has a top five of USC, Ole Miss, Georgia, Louisville and UAB. The Gamecocks and Ole Miss seem to be strongest with him at this point.

▪ Gaffney defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, who has had the Gamecocks on his short list, plans to release a new short list this weekend. The others on his current list are Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State, Georgia and North Carolina. He also has offers from Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, Virginia Tech, LSU and others.

This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 1:22 PM.