Inside the commitment: Jaquel Holman
Blackville (S.C.) Blackville-Hilda three-star linebacker Jaquel Holman announced a commitment to South Carolina on Saturday, just over one week since he landed an offer from the Gamecocks.
GamecockCentral provides an in-depth analysis of the latest pickup below.
The recruitment
This one was cut and dry.
Prior to landing an offer from South Carolina, Holman told GamecockCentral that it was his dream school.
If the Gamecocks offered, it was going to be remarkably hard for him to turn down a chance to play for the home-state program.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White was upfront and straight forward about telling Holman they wanted to verify some things in camp before offering, and once they did, followed through with his word by extending a scholarship.
Holman landed the offer from South Carolina two Fridays ago and then was on campus for an unofficial visit this Saturday and committed.
No drama.
The evaluation
Holman is your classic small town Palmetto State athlete who checks all the boxes athletically but historically sometimes takes a little longer to land on the recruiting radar.
He is listed as a linebacker by On3 and right now the plan is for him to start out there but you could just as easily list him as an “athlete” because he’s an athlete in every sense of the word.
There’s a case to be made that he could play linebacker, safety or running back at the next level and some of that will likely be determined by his size and how much weight he gains over the next year of high school and into college.
Holman measured in at 6-foot-1.5, 196-pounds and ran a 4.49 40 with a 4.28 shuttle. Ideally, he maintains close to that speed and can add 20-or-so pounds on his way to becoming a sideline-to-sideline linebacker.
Holman plays both ways in high school, never really coming off the field. He rushed for 1,600 yards and 26 touchdowns last season on offense.
On defense, he’s a physical kid with range who is an excellent competitor.
On3’s Charles Power is intrigued by Holman’s skillset and there could be some upward mobility in the rankings as he continues to progress.
Power compared Holman and his raw athleticism a bit to Xavier Legette out of high school. I also believe there are some similarities here to the way Darius Rush’s high school career and recruitment played out. Like Rush, Holman has emerged as a state champion on the track as well.
A three-star prospect according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average for the four major recruiting media sites, Holman is the No. 647 overall prospect and No. 71 linebacker in the country.
What’s next?
With four contributing seniors on the current roster, I expect a big linebacker class to help replenish the depth chart.
South Carolina has one linebacker commitment for 2025 now in Holman and is also the public leader for Buford (Ga.) three-star LB AJ Holloway and the behind-the-scenes favorite for Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett three-star Jaiden Braker and Hendersonville (N.C.) Vance County Taeshawn Alston.
The Gamecocks will also host Havelock (N.C.) LB Donovan Darven, an emerging linebacker prospect, on an official visit in two weekends.
I also expect the Gamecocks to once again hit the portal at the position to replace some of the experience that will be lost after the current season.
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