Gamecocks make big move with Jalewis Solomon during official visit

Ellaville (Ga.) Schley County four-star athlete Jalewis Solomon‘s recruitment appears to be shaping into a South Carolina vs. Florida State battle and with one official visit completed, the Gamecocks have seized the early edge.

“I loved every bit of it, I loved it,” Solomon said shortly after wrapping his South Carolina OV. “Just getting a familiar atmosphere with the players, getting to know more of the players, getting to know the town even more. Just meeting with Coach Beamer, just having a great time with Coach Gray and all the players.”

While Solomon is listed as an “athlete” on On3, South Carolina defensive backs coach Torrian Gray wants Solomon to play defense for him and there’s a strong relationship there.

“It’s close, it’s tight,” Solomon said. “He was a defensive back himself, so just talking with Nick, and Nick was telling me how good of a coach Coach Gray was. And I could see that, and I could see that he loves putting his players on, and he loves playing his freshmen.”

The “Nick” that Solomon is referring to is South Carolina Freshman All-American Nick Emmanwori who served as his player host.

“Probably the best host I could ever get,” Solomon said. “He took me around town, he took me to their dorms, showed me how they are living. So yeah, I loved it, I loved it.”

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Solomon of course met with head coach Shane Beamer before leaving.

“He made sure that I knew how important I was to the program,” he said. “He made sure that my whole family was good the whole way. He made sure that he put my family with everything I did. So like I said, he wanted to make sure that my family knew that the love was for them too.”

With the South Carolina visit complete, Solomon has a Florida State OV set for June 23, and then he’ll decide in early July.

“They’re gonna be fighting it out, they’re head to head right now. Well, now South Carolina’s up one. South Carolina right now is up one. They’re the leader right now.”

What gives the Gamecocks the edge?

“This whole weekend has just been love and fun,” he said. “They even made sure my family had fun, you know? Like I said, they made sure that I felt home here, that I had to be needed here. And like I said, they told me that I was the key that they’re missing with that defense, so I kind of took pride in that.”

Solomon is the No. 219 overall prospect and No. 9 athlete in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 30 player in Georgia.

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