USC and North Carolina will renew their football rivalry next month in Charlotte, and off the field, the recruiting rivalry between the two is red hot. Three of the Gamecocks’ 2020 commitments are from North Carolina. The Tar Heels fought back earlier this month beating out the Gamecocks for DE Myle Murphy of Greensboro. And now the two are basically head to head for SAF Ja’Qurious Conley of Jacksonville. They are in his final four along with Duke and Virginia Tech.

“There’s two, UNC and South Carolina are my main two,” Conley said.  “They’ve just grabbed my attention more than the other two.  Right now, those are my four.” 

This weekend Conley plans to visit either Virginia Tech, which he has not visited, or North Carolina, which he has. The decision will be based on his father’s work schedule and his availability to make a longer trip. If not, they’ll make the shorter trip to Chapel Hill.

Conley attended a pair of junior days at USC in January and March when he got the chance to visit with Will Muschamp and his staff and learn more about how they do things.

“The coaches, that’s pretty much it,” Conley said about what catches his eye about the Gamecocks.   “Communicating with the coaches, they’ve got me hyped for the next stage of my life and I’m just ready for it.  The head coach, they all motivate me to want to do something with my life, and I feel like that’s some people I need to be around. So they made the top four.”

Conley has set an official visit to USC for the Alabama weekend. That’s the only official visit he has set at this point. He has visited Duke unofficially leaving Virginia Tech as the only school of his final four he has not seen.

Conley said he is not graduating or signing early. Last season he had 79 tackles with 3 interceptions. On offense, he totaled 1459 yards and 10 touchdowns.