USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.
South Carolina is on fire to start the new year. Over the last few weeks, head coach Shane Beamer has helped spearhead a recruiting surge that’s made Columbia the hottest destination in college football outside of Colorado.
The grand prize in this run has been getting the nation’s top uncommitted player to come on board. On Wednesday, top-ranked 2023 Athlete Nyckoles Harbor announced that he would attend South Carolina, dealing a blow to several other Power 5 programs in pursuit – including Michigan, Maryland and late-charging Oregon.
Harbor is just one of several blue-chip recruits that have signed on since the calendar flipped to 2023, though. Here’s who else they have picked up and where they now rank in this recruiting cycle and the next.
Woodland (SC) OT Kam Pringle
Ranked No. 46 overall and the No. 1 offensive tackle in the class of 2024, Pringle has literally been a massive (6-foot-7, 337 pounds) recruiter for the Gamecocks since committing on Jan. 22.
Here’s a look at Pringle pitching Harbor on Twitter:
One more time for good luck! 🐔🤙🏽
COME HOME!!! @Nyck1k #SPURSUP pic.twitter.com/ye5hpGP66J— Kam Pringle (@PringleKam) February 1, 2023
Pringle had offers from 20 other schools, including Georgia, Clemson and Florida, which were the other main competitors.
Calvary Day (Ga.) TE Michael Smith
A couple days later, South Carolina also got a commitment from the No. 6 ranked tight end in the class in Smith (6-foot-4, 225 pounds). 30 other programs made Smith offers before he made his choice.
Greenville (SC) WR Mazeo Bennett
The latest recruit for Beamer and company just came in this morning when Bennett (6-foot-0, 180 pounds) announced for SC on Twitter:
Mama, I’m staying HOME. 🤭🤭🤭 pic.twitter.com/zoocUzvfNH
— JEFE (@TheMazeoBennett) February 3, 2023
Bennett is the third-ranked player in the state and is No. 31 among receivers in his class. He also had an offer from Tennessee and 22 all together, including most of the top programs in the SEC and ACC.
This all adds up to some serious momentum gained in the recruiting race. After adding Harbor, South Carolina’s recruiting class of 2023 now ranks No. 17 in the country. Their 2024 class is ranked No. 6 nationally.