Texas WR recaps ‘unbelievable’ Gamecocks official visit
The Gamecocks were up first this weekend on the official visit docket for Texas wide receiver Parker Livingstone.
The visit did not disappoint.
“When I got there, started off just chilling out a little bit. We went to Beamer’s house for dinner, which was unbelievable,” Livingstone told GamecockCentral.com. “All the coaches’ families and stuff, that was awesome. The next day, we saw the facilities and academics. We had the photo shoot and went to the stadium on Sunday.”
The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder spent time with a group of Gamecocks players and commitments – such as 2024 quarterback pledge Dante Reno – over the weekend. His allotted host was Tanner Bailey, who seemed to do a great job giving Livingstone a window into what it would be like to be a Gamecocks student-athlete.
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Said the Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy product: “I chilled out with Tanner, who was my host. It was a great time. They were awesome. They were talking a lot about the culture that Beamer has brought in and what Loggains has brought in. They said it’s unbelievable, and that’s why South Carolina was really good last year because of the culture and playing for each other.”
What Livingstone regarding the locker room that Beamer has put together was intriguing to him.
“That’s a huge plus to have a culture like that in college football because of NIL and everything else,” Livingstone explained. “They were telling about their experience getting recruited and how they handled it. It was great to hear from a player’s perspective who is at that school now.”
Several Gamecocks football coaches have been involved in Livingstone’s recruitment, including Shane Beamer, Dowell Loggains, and Justin Stepp. The prospect seems quite comfortable with all of them.
“I was with them, I’d say, probably 75 percent of the time there on my visit. Beamer’s a great coach. Stability, he’s going to be there a while. He just signed a new contract and Loggains and Stepp just signed new contracts,” he said. “They’re going to be there for a while. They were just harping on how they want me and how I’d be a great fit for the offense Loggains runs.”
Even with Loggains going into his first year in Columbia, there is plenty of familiarity here.
“I got to know Loggains really well when he was at Arkansas,” Livingstone explained. “He recruited me from a young age, and just carrying over that relationship to South Carolina has been awesome.”
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The On3 Industry Ranking rates Livingstone as a four-star prospect, the number 366 prospect nationally regardless of position, and the number 62 prospect in the state of Texas.
Another aspect of the trip to Columbia that stood out to Livingstone was the academic profile of the Gamecocks.
“Going into it, I knew South Carolina had good academics, but I didn’t know how good it actually was, one of the better schools in the SEC for academics,” he said. “That’s another thing I’m looking at as well. Hopefully I’ll play in the NFL; that’s my dream. You always have to have a backup plan and get a degree and graduate from college.”
Two more programs are lined up to get official visits from Livingstone; LSU gets a shot the weekend of June 16, then Texas on June 23.
That will signal the end of the recruiting process for Livingstone, who is only considering the Gamecocks, Tigers, and Longhorns now
“That’s it. The week after Texas, July 1, I’m going to be committing that Saturday. We’re out for summer workouts for a week, so I just want to have a good time with family and make my decision,” he said. “It’s all pretty even. South Carolina did a fantastic job this weekend. It was a great first official visit, kind of set the tone for the rest of them.”
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