Signing day preview: Who will fill final spots in Gamecocks’ 2021 class?

The traditional National Signing Day for the 2021 football class is Wednesday.

South Carolina signed nine during December’s early signing period and has since added seven more to roster via the transfer portal. In addition to two commitments who will sign this week, USC has room for three more in the class.

The 22 spots in the class right now consist of 18 newcomers and four who played for the Gamecocks in 2020 but had their scholarships count ahead and toward the 2021 class.

A look at the prospects who will sign with the Gamecocks on Wednesday and who the final recruiting targets were down the stretch for South Carolina.

TJ Sanders

TJ Sanders, the 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive lineman from Marion High School, is a longtime USC commitment who chose to wait until February to sign. He was named to Class 2A All-State football team and was chosen for the Shrine Bowl, although the all-star game won’t be played this year because of COVD-19.

Kolbe Fields

Louisiana linebacker Kolbe Fields committed to South Carolina in early January. He was previously committed to Oklahomas State and Memphis. 247Sports the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Fields as a three-star prospect and 28th ranked player in Louisiana. He had 58 tackles, six for loss, with two sacks this season for Archbishop Rummel High School in New Orleans.

La’Dareyen Craig

Cornerback La’Dareyen Craig (6-2, 180) of Mobile, Alabama landed recent offers from South Carolina, Mississippi State and Oregon State, but the Gamecocks and Bulldogs have been his top two. And last week he said he was leaning to the Gamecocks. He will announce a decision on signing day.

▪ SIGNING DAY UPDATE: According to the high school coach of cornerback La’Dareyen Craig of Mobile, Alabama, he had not made a decision as of Tuesday night between USC and Mississippi State. Coach Steve Normand also said Auburn’s defensive backs coach talked with his defensive coordinator Tuesday about Craig, but no offer was extended. It looks like decision will be for either the Gamecocks or Bulldogs. South Carolina being farther from home may or may not be an issue, Normand said. The school will hold a signing ceremony for Craig and seven other players starting at 11 a.m. Eastern.

“He really isn’t leaning towards more one place than the other,” Normand said. “He likes South Carolina and thinks it would be great for him. I think he’s a little bit worried about being so far away from home. He just doesn’t know what he wants to do. He doesn’t know if he should go there or to Mississippi State. The other day he was talking about how great it would be to go to South Carolina and play. He thinks the opportunity would be great for him. But the thing is, Mississippi State is a little bit closer to home for his family. But if I’m not mistaken, he said he may have some distant family in the area (of Columbia) that would be a little bit of a support staff.”

Juwon Gaston

Safety Juwon Gaston (5-11, 187) of Montgomery, Alabama has had the Gamecocks as his favorite over Auburn and South Alabama. The home-state Tigers offered him in late January. Gaston also has had Tennessee on his short list. With the coaching change in Knoxville, he said the Vols are no longer under consideration. He plans to wait until signing day to announce his decision, but he will privately commit to his choice before then.

▪ SIGNING DAY UPDATE: Safety Juwon Gaston has not given any public indication about his thinking. He was favoring the Gamecocks in late January, but the new Auburn staff offered and made a strong push for him, and the Tigers may have surpassed the Gamecocks here. He is scheduled to sign at a school ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.

Tavareon “Bam” Martin-Scott

Another remaining target for the Gamecocks is linebacker Tavareon Martin-Scott (6-3, 215) of Dodge City Community College (Kansas). He has narrowed his list to USC, West Virginia and Mississippi State. Texas Tech has been involved here as well.

▪ SIGNING DAY UPDATE — Things look promising for the Gamecocks with junior college linebacker Tavareon Martin-Scott. On Tuesday night he said he had made his decision from the Gamecocks, West Virginia and Mississippi State. He will sign at 7:45 a.m. Eastern.

Joko Willis

USC also has made a run at former Kentucky linebacker commitment Joko Willis (6-3, 210) of LaGrange, Georgia and Independence Community College (Kansas). He officially decommitted from the Wildcats last week. Auburn also is making a strong pitch for Willis, who will play his redshirt freshman season this spring at Independence. The Tigers have not yet offered.

Jimmori Robinson

USC also has remained involved with defensive end Jimmori Robinson (6-6, 248) of Monroe Community College in New York. Robinson is a former University of Texas at San Antonio commitment and also has had Florida State, Auburn and Jackson State on his short list.

Trevin Wallace

Linebacker Trevin Wallace (6-2, 217) of Jesup, Georgia also had been sought after by the Gamecocks, but he appears poised to sign Wednesday with either Kentucky, Ole Miss or Auburn.

Jordan Mosley

Four-star wide receiver Jordan Mosley (6-0, 190) of Mobile, Alabama, who was recruited by USC’s former staff and heard from the new staff as well, committed to Northwestern on Sunday. He’s a former Tennessee commitment.

Recruiting news and notes

• USC offered Class of 2022 four-star offensive tackle Jacob Allen (6-6, 270) of Princeton, New Jersey. He’s rated the No. 8 OT nationally in the 247Sports Composite. Some other offers are Alabama, Arizona State, Boston College, Duke, Auburn, Texas and Minnesota.
• USC 2022 WR target Chris Graves of Fort Myers, Florida was offered by Maryland and Penn State.
• USC 2022 safety target Jaylin Marshall of Hallandale, Florida was offered by Utah.
• Class of 2022 OT Chase Sweigart from Chapin was offered by Tulane.
• Class of 2022 Hammond OT Drew Bobo was offered by Georgia Tech.

This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 9:20 AM.