Clarendon Hall WR Kylic Horton (6-4 180) made his commitment phone call to USC head coach Shane Beamer Friday morning. Beamer put out his commitment alert on Twitter soon after, and Saturday night Horton went public with his own tweet announcing his commitment to the Gamecocks. He’s the third pickup of the day for Beamer, and he leaves two private commitments made this week still to go public. One is expected July 5th, the other date is unknown at this time.
Horton is quite the rags to riches football recruiting story. He has only played eight-man football for Clarendon Hall, and prior to a camp session at USC, his only offers were from Gardner-Webb and Benedict. But he impressed Beamer and receivers coach Justin Stepp in a camp June 3rd with a 4.4 forty and a 39-inch vertical. He returned the next day and was impressive again, and the Gamecocks offered. Soon after, he landed offers from Virginia Tech and Coastal Carolina.
“It’s overwhelming right now,” Horton said. “It’s emotional. I talked to my parents and they saw me cry a little bit about it. I just knew Carolina was the place to be.”
“Welcome Home” has been the recruiting mantra for Beamer and his assistants, and Horton said he definitely got that message on his two visits to the campus this month.
“I just love Coach Beamer, Coach Stepp, all of them,” Horton said. “They made it feel like a home since the first day I was there. I’m ready for the challenge. They need a guy to go to (for the long ball), and hopefully I can be the guy.”
Had he not enrolled at Clarendon Hall in the 8th grade, Horton would have played at Lake Marion. So, Clarendon Hall coach Anthony Reitenour considers himself a lucky coach to have Horton in his program. And he knows Horton’s background well because he and his father were teammates at Elloree High School.
“He’s just versatile,” Reitenour said. “He’s played every single position for me in the last three years. He’s jumped on the line for me before. As a receiver, he’s a freak of nature. His ability and his strength, and the way he uses his body, and his accuracy in catching the ball is unreal. If I could find a way for him to throw the ball and then go catch it at the same time, I don’t think anybody would ever beat us. He’s just a good kid. He’s coachable, very skilled athletically. And his character and his personality, he’s a great kid.”
Horton becomes the 9th public commitment for the 2022 class, which actually numbers 11 because of two transfers counting in the class. With the two private commitments, the Gamecocks are sitting on a total of 13 in the class.
USC 2022 Recruiting Class
- TYRESE ROSS SAF 6-2 185 TRANSFER WASHINGTON STATE
- KARON PRUNTY CB 6-1 189 TRANSFER KANSAS
- GRAYSON MAINS OT 6-5 265 SUWANEE, GA
- BRADEN DAVIS QB 6-5 185 MIDDLETOWN, DE
- DONOVAN WESTMORELAND LB 6-2 195 GRIFFIN, GA
- KAJUAN BANKS CB 5-10 170 TALLAHASSEE
- JY’VONTE MCCLENDON SAF 6-2 180 LAKELAND, FL
- JAMAAL WHYCE DT 6-4 250 MIAMI
- PEYTON WILLIAMS SAF 6-0 180 ROCKLEDGE, TX
- CASON HENRY OT 6-6 290 MARIETTA, GA
- KYLIC HORTON WR 6-4 180 CLARENDON HALL
