USC was the first to offer LB Tavareon Martin-Scott 6-3 215) of Gary, IN and Dodge City JC, KS, and that move by Will Muschamp just might pay off with a commitment and signing in December. Martin-Scott said Monday night his hope is to do just that with the Gamecocks after this semester of school. Since there are no games, he’s able to spend more time on his academics, and he’s confident he will complete his requirements.
“I feel like I’m going to do it,” Martin-Scott said. “It’s not hard. I’ve got my schedule and I’m consistent with it now. “I’m feeling great. I really would have committed, but I’m weighing all my options right now because I have another semester and I’ve been talking to other schools.”
Those include Texas and Texas Tech, but the Gamecocks are showing the most consistent interest with Muschamp and linebackers coach Rod Wilson keeping up the contacts.
“Me and Coach Muschamp try to give each other a good morning text each morning,” Martin-Scott said. “He sends me stuff like, ‘Have a better day, you always have got to have a better attitude and effort, you’re the only person who can measure your effort, so when you go to class, give effort.’ Me and Coach Wilson talked a week ago. It was just a checkup to see how the family is doing.”
Martin-Scott and Wilson also talk football, and he knows how he would be used in Columbia.
“He told me I would fit into the the scheme perfectly with my speed and stuff,” Martin-Scott said. “He said he would put me at the Will linebacker. He showed me how they run the Will linebacker, and we went over some film.”
Martin-Scott also has offers from West Virginia, Arizona, Washington State and Houston among others. But it’s the way Muschamp and Wilson have recruited him that have helped the Gamecocks separate from the rest.
“They don’t sugarcoat anything,” Martin-Scott said. “When i first started talking to them, they were telling me it’s a process and I’m the only person that can mess things up with my grades, and I just have to stay on top of my grades and everything will work out perfectly. And they had Stephon Gilmore and Javon Kinlaw come back and talk to the players on a Zoom. A lot of schools that I’ve been talking to, the former players are involved with their school any more. That just shows that their program was something that helped the players get to where they wanted to be. That shows a lot.”
Last season Martin-Scott totaled 42 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
