Shane Beamer leads USC’s latest pitch to recruit Daniel Hill. This was the message

The next of the major targets for South Carolina to come off the recruiting board will be running back Daniel Hill of Meridian, Mississippi. He is scheduled to announce his commitment Aug. 23, though he indicated Monday night that date is not set in stone.

The grind toward a decision, however, continues for Hill, who still has USC, Alabama and Tennessee as his finalists.

Hill said he’s hearing from all three programs, and over the weekend he was in touch with the Gamecocks staff.

“We had a group FaceTime two days ago,” Hill said. “We were really just talking, the regular conversation about how I was doing. They were just checking in on me. The whole coaching staff was on it, the offensive staff, and a few of the defensive coaches came in and spoke.”

USC head coach Shane Beamer, of course, was the leader of the pack in making another pitch to Hill.

“How much they really want me,” Hill said of the message from Beamer. “How much they want me to become a Gamecock, that I’m the missing piece to the class that already has committed.”

If he sticks with the Aug. 23 date, Hill now will have just over a week to make his call between the Gamecocks, Crimson Tide and Vols.

“Really just talk to my family about everything and see how things line up,” Hill said. “I’d say South Carolina would be the favorite right now.”

Hill said he has not scheduled any visits for the fall, but he said he will make visits to see games, including at schools other than the one he commits to.

“Why not?” Hill asked.

Hill made official visits in June to USC, Auburn and Alabama. He has not been back to USC since, but he did return to Alabama the last weekend in July.

South Carolina has 15 commitments for the 2024 class, including running back Matthew Fuller.