Three tiers from the Gamecocks’ official visit weekend

The South Carolina Gamecocks coaching staff hosted a total of 11 official visitors last weekend. One of them was committed four-star tight end Michael Smith. Another – Missouri punter Mason Love – has since announced his verbal pledge to Shane Beamer’s program.

In this feature for GamecockCentral.com, we place the other nine visitors into tiers according to where things stand between them and South Carolina.

TIER 1: Prospects that are far down the road with the Gamecocks

— Love was originally in this tier, of course, prior to announcing his commitment.

— We would also place Virginia linebacker Fred Johnson in this one. His recruitment quickly advanced from a June 2 camp performance and offer to an official visit the next weekend.

USC’s in good shape, and he has an announcement set for this weekend.

— Another in this category would be Jesup (Georgia) Wayne County running back Matthew Fuller. Following the trip, he said that Beamer is building something special in Columbia and that he “thinks he wants to be part of it.”

No firm timeline is set here, other than Fuller wanting to decide before his senior season. It’d be fair to call the Gamecocks a significant favorite.

TIER 2: Longtime targets, USC helped itself

— Kam Mikell is finished with his summer official visit slate, but he is looking to take at least a couple game visits – to Kentucky and Tennessee – during the season. He’s been on Torrian Gray’s radar for quite some time and has been to campus previously.

Georgia is the perceived front-runner here, and that designation seems appropriate. USC did seem to impress Mikell during the visit.

— North Carolina four-star Malcolm Ziglar had also been to campus prior to this official and was apparently all smiles after the trip. While USC hasn’t been on Ziglar for, say, three years, he’s nonetheless a target that’s been on the board for some time.

He has officials to Notre Dame and UNC the next two weekends, but USC left a positive impression.

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TIER 3: Newer targets, too early to know how things will shape up

— Four-star DD Holmes dropped the Gamecocks into his top six and then made his first official visit to the school. With that first trip in the books, it looks like South Carolina’s squarely in contention.

— With a couple EDGE targets picking other schools, it makes a guy like Quintavius Johnson even more intriguing. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder has some major offers and will see UGA and Tennessee the next two weekends. He loved his first trip to Columbia, according to feedback he and others gave us. Still, we’ll have to see how that trip stacks up with the others coming up.

— Nnamdi Ogboko’s previous presence at USC prior to this weekend’s official visit has not been confirmed by us, but either way it was the first really in-depth look at the program. He’s going to Florida this weekend and may travel to another suitor the weekend of June 23.

— We also slotted defensive tackle Nasir Johnson in this category, although he looks like a bit of a longer shot at this time. Florida – which gets an official visit this weekend – was named as the school standing out to him even right after the USC official visit.

— Torrian Gray somewhat quietly has been communicating with Alabama defensive back Kaleb Harris, and he checked out USC for the very first time this past weekend, too. He may go see Georgia Tech on an official. Carolina may be in a pretty good spot, but it also seems open-ended as there’s time for him to go see more programs.

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