Tag: gamecocks football

South Carolina adds 2 more recruits to class of 2024

The Gamecocks made up some ground today.

South Carolina got off to a hot start in the 2024 recruiting cycle but has since faded in favor of Michigan, Georgia and Ohio State, who currently hold the top three spots in the composite recruiting rankings for this cycle.

The Gamecocks made up some ground today, though, as two different 2024 recruits announced their commitments to South Carolina on Wednesday:

West Florence (SC) four-star S Kelvin Hunter

Hunter (5-foot-11, 179 pounds) is ranked No. 17 among safeties in his class and No. 4 overall in the state going by On3’s rankings. He had offers from at least eight other programs, including Coastal Carolina, Charlotte and Michigan.

Charles Herbert Flowers (Md.) three-star OT Mike Williams

The other prospect coming on board is Williams (6-foot-6, 325 pounds), who ranks No. 91 at his position and No. 35 overall in the state, according to On3. Williams also had offers from 16 other programs.

Asked why he picked South Carolina, Williams credited offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley for his approach during his recruitment, per 247Sports.

“We weren’t even talking about ball. We were talking about life. He just told me I had to make the best decision for me… He said if I didn’t want to go here, he named another SEC college he wanted me to go to because he said it would be a good fit for me. He said I would be a great fit at South Carolina, and that (other) SEC program. He gave me the real. He wasn’t a car salesman. He wasn’t trying to stack up the offensive line room.”

Speaking of the offensive line room, the Gamecocks now have four offensive line commits in this class and nine total. They rank No. 7 in the nation.

More football stories

Colorado sells out season tickets first time in 27 years

TE1 Landen Thomas flips from Georgia to Florida State

Watch: Another 2024 blue chip recruit commits to South Carolina

South Carolina is off to a strong start building their 2024 recruiting class.

South Carolina is off to a strong start building their 2024 recruiting class. Earlier this week, the No. 1 ranked offensive tackle in the class, Kam Pringle announced his commitment to the Gamecocks.

Yesterday, the school added another blue chip prospect to their ranks when Calvary Day (Ga.) four-star tight end Michael Smith announced his commitment in enthusiastic fashion:

South Carolina won out over 29 other programs that made Smith an offer, including repeat national champion Georgia and Alabama.

Smith told Chad Simmons at on3 that the coaching staff communicated well with him to build their relationship.

“The communication was always there with coach Beamer and coach Wright, just building relationships… As I started praying about it, the signs started to show: random people coming up and saying, ‘Hey, I see you in the South Carolina jersey’ or ‘Hey, I could see you wearing garnet and black.’ So the signs started to build and I was like, ‘Alright, that’s why’ because it has my major. I felt comfortable. It was a family environment.”

Smith (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) is ranked No. 6 among tight ends in his class and No. 134 nationally.

The Gamecocks’ class of 2024 now ranks No. 11 in the nation.

More football recruiting stories

Four schools get commitments from 3-star recruits

Six notable recruitments since Friday night

2022 NFL draft: Kingsley Enagbare scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about South Carolina edge defender Kingsley Enagbare

A long, lean, and fierce pass rusher, South Carolina’s Kingsley Enagbare will hope to bring that same intensity and upside with him as he enters the 2022 NFL draft.

Here is everything you need to know about the Gamecocks’ stout edge defender:

4-star DT and Georgia recruiting target sets new commitment date

4-star DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, a Georgia football recruiting target, set a new commitment date.

Last week, 2021 four-star defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins released a top six of Georgia, North Carolina, Florida State, South Carolina, Penn State and Tennessee.

Prior to revealing his final group, the 6-foot-5-inch, 298-pounder tweeted that he would announce his decision on Sunday, May 17.

Shortly after, he decided he needed some more time to make this life-changing decision.

Ingram-Dawkins now has a new commitment date of June 26, which is his birthday.

“I’m committing June 26th, on my birthday,” Ingram-Dawkins said on Instagram Live.

247Sports has Ingram-Dawkins as the nation’s No. 17 ranked defensive tackle and as the top player in the state of South Carolina.

Per the composite rankings, he is considered the nation’s 408th overall player.

Per 247Sports, South Carolina is viewed as the leader for Ingram-Dawkins, with Georgia close behind.

But Ingram-Dawkins said he does not pay much attention to the crystal ball on his 247Sports player profile.

The crystal ball is their way of  projecting where a recruit will land by having  a few recruiting analysts make predictions for specific players.

Georgia offered him in January and got him on campus in early-March.

[vertical-gallery id=28511]

4-star DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins delays commitment: Considering UGA, Vols, FSU, more

4-star DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has delayed his decision. He is considering Georgia football, South Carolina, UNC, Penn State, FSU and Vols.

On Monday, 2021 4-star defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins released a top-six of Georgia, North Carolina, Florida State, South Carolina, Penn State and Tennessee.

Shortly before revealing his final group, the 6-foot-5, 298 pounder announced that he would be announcing his decision on Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m.

However, one day later, Ingram-Dawkins made a tweet saying that he’s decided to give his commitment “a little more thought.”

“I’ve decided to give my commitment a little more thought before making it on Sunday!!,” he said in a Tweet. “This is a life-changing decision that is very important to me!!”

247Sports has Ingram-Dawkins as the nation’s No. 17 ranked defensive tackle and as the top player in the state of South Carolina.

According to SportsTalkSC, Ingram-Dawkins will wait roughly 2-3 weeks.

[vertical-gallery id=28511]

Watch: Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp recall hilarious old Nick Saban story

UGA football HC Kirby Smart & South Carolina Gamecocks HC Will Muschamp recalled a hilarious story of Alabama HC Nick Saban from LSU days.

Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp are two of the SEC’s brightest head coaches, and similar to a number of college football’s coaches, they both learned from the best, Nick Saban.

The two coaches previously spent time together as teammates in Athens and coaches at Valdosta State and then LSU, where they coached under Saban.

From 2000-04, Saban was head coach of the LSU Tigers. Muschamp was his linebackers coach in 2001 and defensive coordinator from 2002-04. Smart, who is four years younger than Muschamp, was with Saban for one season at LSU, coaching the defensive backs in 2004 before spending a year as running backs coach in Athens in 2005. After his year at Georgia, Smart would spend the next decade coaching under Saban, starting with the Miami Dolphins and then the Alabama job.

While being interviewed by CBS Sports this week, both Smart and Muschamp recalled a hilarious story displaying Saban’s lack of tech skills.

You’re going to love this one:

The Gamecocks’ head man provided a young Smart with key leadership skills in their lone season as Bulldog teammates. Muschamp later hired Smart as a defensive backs coach for Valdosta State, where the two extended a previous friendship.

Now, as both men are set to embark on their fifth seasons as head coaches of two SEC programs, they can only reflect on where they have come from.

Steve Spurrier on absence of spring practice, how long teams need to prepare for 2020 season

Steve Spurrier, while on the Paul Finebaum Show, discussed how long teams will need to prepare for the 2020 CFB season after coronavirus.

Coronavirus has forced the NCAA to cancel all spring sports, including spring practices and scrimmages for college football teams.

Losing offseason practices is never something a college coach enjoys, for the obvious reason it takes time away from evaluating your roster and preparing for the following season.

However, while on the “Paul Finebaum Show,” SEC coaching legend Steve Spurrier went into deal about just how big of a deal the absence of spring practice is for these teams, saying for some coaches it’s really not that huge of an obstacle.

“Most all coaches would tell you that the staffs that have been there for 2, 3, 4 years or more that it’s not that big a deal not having spring football,” Spurrier said. “Maybe if you had competition at quarterback or some other positions, it would be important, but preseason, if you can get a month in before you play, I certainly think everyone would be capable of playing — maybe not quite their best, but pretty close to playing the best they can.”

Where Georgia falls into that is tricky. Kirby Smart is going into his fifth season as head coach of the Bulldogs, so he has a pretty good understanding of how things will run and look next season.

But then there’s the quarterback factor. As far as competition goes, Georgia does not have one. Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman will be the guy under center in 2020. But at the end of the day, he’s still a new quarterback playing in a new conference against a much higher level of talent. So, yes, I’m sure Smart would love to be able to see how Newman gels with the team this spring. But all things considered Smart understands what’s important at a time like this.

“Right now, I think that’s what we’re all hoping and praying that colleges can get 3-4 weeks of preseason and, then, hopefully, we’ve gotta have fans in the stands. I don’t know how you play college football without the fans,” Spurrier said. “They make it what it is. To me, that’s why it’s the greatest sport in the world. The fans talk about it year-round.”

 

 

Two former Georgia football players/coaches leave South Carolina for NFL

Two former Georgia football players and coaches have left South Carolina to coach in the NFL.

Two coaches are leaving the South Carolina program to take NFL coaching jobs.

Both of those coaches happen to be guys who played and coached at the University of Georgia.

Thomas Brown, who played running back at Georgia from 2004-07, has joined the Los Angeles Rams staff as the running backs coach, where he will coach former Dawg Todd Gurley.

Related: Thomas Brown hired to Rams

And Bryan McClendon, who caught passes in Athens from 2002-05, will be joining the Steelers staff as receivers coach.

Related: Report: Former Georgia WR Bryan McClendon hired to Steelers

After their collegiate playing careers, both players returned to Georgia to coach shortly after testing out the NFL.

McClendon coached the running backs and receivers in Athens from 2009-2015, after spending two seasons as a grad assistant at Georgia.

Brown coached at Georgia in 2011 as a strength coach and then came back in 2015 to coach the running backs, which at the time was Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.

Both ended up on the same staff at South Carolina under none other than former Georgia defensive back Will Muschamp, who is head coach of the Gamecocks.

Georgia ties run deep.

Report: Former Georgia football player and coach hired to Steelers staff

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly hired a former Georgia football wide receiver to coach.

According to the ABC television affiliate in Columbia, S.C., the Pittsburgh Steelers have pulled from the college ranks to find their next receivers coach.

The Steelers have reportedly worked out a deal with former Georgia wide receiver Bryan McClendon, who also coached in Athens for nearly a decade.

The Steelers have been on a long search for a receivers coach. This past season, interim receivers coach Ray Sherman handled those duties after Darryl Drake passed away during training camp in August.

[lawrence-related id=22289]

McClendon played at Georgia from 2002-05, finding a ton of success in Athens.

After college, he tried out the NFL for a year with the Bears but quickly found himself coaching at Georgia in 2007 as a graduate assistant and staying until 2015. In 2009, McClendon was promoted to running backs coach under Mark Richt, a position he held until 2014, before switching to wide receivers coach in 2015. He also added other titles along the way, such as assistant head coach and interim head coach after Richt’s firing.

In 2016, McClendon was named co-offensive and wide receivers coach coordinator at South Carolina and in 2019 was named the Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator.

Oddly enough, McClendon is the second former Georgia football player to get an NFL coaching job today. And even more odd, the other, Thomas Brown, also left a position at South Carolina to do so.

Decade in review: How Georgia football performed against rivals

From the beginning of the 2010 to 2019, the Georgia Bulldogs posted over a .500 winning percentage against each of their rival programs.

We’ve reached the end of college football’s 2019 regular season. From the beginning of the 2010 regulation schedule to the culmination of the current year’s, the Georgia Bulldogs posted a .500 or better winning percentage against each of their rival programs.

The Dawgs won eight and lost two against in-state rival Georgia Tech, earning the past three Governor’s Cups in a row.

They went 8-3 vs. Auburn, including a victory in the 2017 SEC Championship Game, winning the past three meetings consecutively.

They posted a record of six wins and four losses vs. Florida, also winning three meetings in a row.

The Bulldogs went 8-2 in matchups against Tennessee, again with three successive wins.

Georgia’s worst rivalry record of the decade comes against South Carolina. The Bulldogs split 10 games against the Gamecocks, accumulating five wins and five losses.