Gamecocks at top of the list for Florida lineman coming off 14-sack season

Fort Meade, Florida defensive end Deonte Anderson (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) has held an offer from South Carolina since March. Many more major offers have come in since then, including one from Illinois last weekend. The Gamecocks have been a constant with him, however, and he continues to hold them in high regard.

“They are top of the list on my charts, for right now, currently,” Anderson said. “Like the way their coaching staff has recruited me with a lot of energy, and how they treat their players. I’ve also got Mississippi State, UCF and all the other ones. They are the recent ones I talked to.”

Anderson, though, is not in the commitment mood just yet. He wants to let his season play out and then go from there. But it looks like what Will Muschamp and his assistants are sharing with Anderson has peaked his interest.

“I’m looking at everybody equally right now, and I like the energy all the teams are giving me right now,” Anderson said. “I’m still talking to South Carolina. They still give me good energy towards their school. They are showing me lots of love. I’m talking to everybody…the head coach, the D-coordinator, the D-line coach. They send me lots of hand written letters and I’ve talked to them on the phone.”

Anderson has not yet visited USC but he hopes to do so once the visit embargo is lifted. Some of his other offers are Arizona State, Boston College, Michigan State, Nebraska, West Virginia, East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, UCF, Indiana, Northwestern and Washington State.

Anderson is coming off a season of 40 tackles and 14 sacks. He is rated as a three-star in the 247 Sports Composite and ranked 25th nationally among weakside defensive ends.

Notes:

Bryce McGowens, a 6-foot-5 guard from Legacy Early College in Greenville. decommitted from Florida State Thursday, a story first reported by Stockrisers. McGowens is rated a 5-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite and ranked the No. 3 shooting guard in the country.

Stockristers reported some of the schools McGowens heard from Thursday included South Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky. McGowens committed to the Seminoles in February. Clemson and USC were among his offers at the time. McGowens’ older brother Trey transferred from Pitt to Nebraska, and the Cornhuskers have offered.

Some of his other offers are Providence, LSU, Pitt, Providence, Xavier, Wichita State, TCU, St. John’s Iona, Iowa State, Wake Forest, Florida and Ole Miss. McGowens is a native of Piedmont and was a student at Wren before transferring to Lincoln Academy in Winston-Salem in the summer of 2019. But that school closed and he returned to Wren for the 2019 school year. He announced in April his transfer to Legacy. Last season McGowens averaged 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game. For his three seasons at Wren, he averaged over 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game. He shot 51% from the floor, 42% from three and 76% from the line during his three seasons with the Hurricanes.

▪ One-time South Carolina defensive end target Demarcus Smith of Birmingham decommitted from Ole Miss. He named a top six of the Gamecocks, Nebraska, Kansas, Ole Miss, Tenneessee and Mississippi State. Tracy Rocker, who first recruited Smith while he was at Tennessee, has been the Gamecocks lead recruiter, though Will Muschamp and Bobby Bentley are also keeping in touch. He has not yet visited USC.

▪ Charlotte tight end Bryson Nesbit named a top 5 of South Carolina, UCLA, North Carolina, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech.