Recruiting roundup: Two commits, Big OVs, Final lists and more
Gamecock Central’s Weekly Recruiting Roundup — which will feature a look back at the latest news, visits, offers and commitments in the world of South Carolina recruiting — is brought to you by Andy Luedecke and MyPerfectFranchise.net.
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— The last week or so has been a wild one in the world of South Carolina recruiting as the Gamecocks hosted their final big official visit weekend of the summer, closed out their summer camp series, and added two pledges to their public commit list.
The Recruiting Rundown is designed to get GamecockCentral subscribers caught up on all of it.
— South Carolina kicked off its final big weekend with a public pledge from a prospect who visited for a prior one.
Last Thursday, Jesup (Ga.) Wayne County three-star running back Matthew Fuller gave his commitment to head coach Shane Beamer before going public with the news on Friday.
Fuller, who landed an offer from South Carolina in May, had quickly become a perceived Gamecock lean and seemed all but committed to the Gamecocks following his OV on the second weekend of June.
“They’re building something different,” Fuller said after that visit wrapped up. “I think I want to be a part of it.”
The 6-foot, 210-pounder put up big numbers last season for head high school coach Jaybo Shaw, who is the brother of former South Carolina great Connor Shaw.
As a junior, Fuller racked up 1,757 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry in the process. He went over the 100 yard mark in 10 separate games with a long run on the season of 83 yards.
Fuller, the Gamecocks’ first running back in the class, chose South Carolina over Georgia Tech.
— You’d have to have been out of the country for the last week or completely locked in on something else if you’re a South Carolina fan and weren’t aware of the Gamecocks’ four big uncommitted targets who were on campus for official visits over the weekend.
But for anyone who missed it, here’s the list of uncommitted (at the time) prospects who were joined by eight South Carolina commits:
Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate five-star EDGE Dylan Stewart
Meridian (Miss.) four-star ATH (RB) Daniel Hill
Burlington (N.C.) Cummings four-star WR Jonathan Paylor
Savannah (Ga.) Savannah Christian Prep three-star S David Bucey
— As South Carolina looks to go four-for-four among the uncommitted prospects, one has already pledged to the Gamecocks and announced his commitment.
Bucey said prior that if everything checked out on his visit that he’d likely be joining the Gamecock football program.
And it must have, because the new South Carolina target announced a pledge to the Gamecocks on Monday, one day after leaving campus.
“It was great,” Bucey said Sunday after the official visit. “I mean, all the people are great. Facilities, people, food was great. They fed me well. But I mean, I love everything about school. It’s a great place.”
“The campus is really pretty,” he added. “The town just looks nice. Facilities, everything that South Carolina has to offer is great.”
— There’s been plenty of movement with the other prospects as well.
Paylor, who told GamecockCentral right after his visit that he’ll tentatively make his announcement on July 28, announced his official Top 5 on Tuesday.
The Gamecocks plus N.C. State, North Carolina, Maryland, and Penn State made the final group for the big-play wide receiver from the Tar Heel State.
“It was amazing from start to finish,” Paylor said of his South Carolina visit. “I got down here, first of all, we checked into the hotels, they had everything laid out — excellent, right? So got in there, had everything I needed. So after that, we checked out and got to the lobby. Vibes were excellent. All the guys got here, Mazeo Bennett, Kam Pringle, Dante Reno, just chopping it up, talking. And after that, we headed down to the facility and talked to the coaches.”
Behind the scenes, South Carolina and N.C. State have been considered the two favorites and I’m sticking with my long-time RPM prediction for the Gamecocks here. The Wolfpacker’s Ethan McDowell joined me and Chris Clark in predicting South Carolina and the RPM currently gives the Gamecocks a 91.6 percent chance of landing Paylor.
— I probably should have entered a South Carolina prediction for Hill previously as well and finally did so, which flipped the percentages to 56.9 percent Carolina and 41.4 percent Alabama.
Despite the Alabama buzz around Hill last week, there’s a sense from our sources that Columbia is where Hill will end up.
And that pledge could come soon as Hill hopes to make a decision by the end of July.
“They were just telling me it’s home, you know,” Hill said after wrapping up the visit. “They said I’m the missing piece, you know, they need a running back.”
— While GamecockCentral has not received direct feedback from Stewart following his visit, there’s been quiet confidence on the South Carolina end here for some time.
Stewart announced his Top 5 on Friday, literally around the time he was to arrive in Columbia, and the Gamecocks made that group along with Ohio State, Georgia, Miami and Maryland.
The last two on that list aren’t expected to be major factors in what appears to be shaping into a Gamecocks vs. Buckeyes battle with UGA still involved as well.
If this site were to put in a prediction today, it would be in the Gamecocks’ favor but the Buckeyes can’t be counted out.
For some national perspective, here’s what On3’s own Chad Simmons reported on Wednesday:
Dylan Stewart has gone back and forth on when he would like to commit. As of now, the five-star EDGE is looking to make a summer decision. He released a top five last week, but I continue to hear buzz around three schools. Those are Georgia, Ohio State and South Carolina. My prediction is on the Buckeyes, and I have had it there since early spring, and there is still a level of confidence from the Big Ten program. South Carolina’s confidence is growing too, after a successful official visit last weekend. Georgia is a school you cannot sleep on. There is consistent communication there too. I hear a little more about the Buckeyes and the Gamecocks. There is still some work to be done here and I am told Stewart has not made his decision yet.
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