The process of adding to the 2025 recruiting class for Shane Beamer and his staff picks up steam starting this weekend with official visits. One of the targeted prospects who plans to be in Columbia is LB Jaiden Braker (6-4 214) of Snellville, GA.
USC defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas paid a school visit to Braker this spring, and that got the momentum going for the Gamecocks with linebackers coach Clayton White getting him on campus to watch a spring practice.
“I was invited to a practice, and I couldn’t turn it down because I love SEC ball,” Braker said. “I used to watch a lot of Jadeveon Clowney. So, I went up for a practice visit. I talked to the coaches, met the staff and walked around. I watched the practice and enjoyed it. I ended up talking to Coach Clayton right after, and they ended up offering me towards the end of practice, him and Coach Beamer. On the way back they ended up texting me and we booked an official visit to get back up there immediately.”
Braker said he and the coaches have talked in too much detail about what they like about him as a player and what their plans would be for him. He expects to get into all of that this weekend.
“They haven’t said too much about it yet. We’ll normally talk about that on the visit,’ Braker said. “They like my length and my ability to run. I had around 60 tackles last season. Most of those were solo because I was playing SAM linebacker, so I was out of the box. I had two sacks and eight tackles for loss.”
Braker has a June full of visits coming up, and the Gamecocks will get the first chance to move the needle more in their direction.
“They are definitely in my top seven right now,” Braker said. “By the end of all my visits, I’m taking like six officials, I’ll come to a conclusion on which school to which I’ll be committing to. But they are definitely in the top schools.”
Following the USC visit, Braker has visits set with Rutgers, Utah, NC State and Kentucky. He also wants to visit USF. He plans to make his decision in July.