DE Taeshawn Alston (6-4 217) of Henderson, NC will announce his college commitment Tuesday night at 6:00 PM at his high school. His plan is to have some of his teammates with him and stream the announcement on Instagram. He is choosing between South Carolina, North Carolina and Rutgers, the three schools he visited officially this month.
Alston has made numerous visits to USC the last two years for camps, games and junior days. He said his official visit in early June went very well and he spent a lot of time talking things over with head coach Shane Beamer and defensive coordinator Clayton White.
“When I went up there, Coach Beamer and Coach White, they are a wonderful group,” Alston said. “The staff in general and the coaches are all wonderful and care about their players. The biggest about them is they are going to make sure the players are good and make sure you are good. Being with the players was awesome. Hanging out with the players and getting to know about South Carolina was awesome.”
Alston only played in seven games last season and recorded 27 tackles and five sacks. Some see him as an edge rusher in college, and some like him as an outside linebacker. The Gamecocks could use him both ways.
“They look at me like a hybrid guy on the field,” Alston said. “Sometimes I may play edge. Sometimes I might be like Bam Scott and play a linebacker position. I feel like the way they use their defense, they move in it. The way they use their linebackers, the linebackers are free, the outside backer is free. Sometimes they rush off the edge, sometimes they are in coverage. They’ve got a good defensive scheme.”
Alston has had many conversations with Beamer over the recruiting process, and the Gamecocks coach has a direct message for him.
“I’m an SEC guy and he thinks I’d be a wonderful player at South Carolina,” Alston said. “He thinks I’d have a great career at South Carolina. He loves the way I move. With me and Beamer, we talk about life situations and stuff like that. He loves everything about me.”
After his USC visit, Alston went the next weekend to Rutgers. He was at North Carolina last weekend for his final official visit.
“It was good. The coaching staff was wonderful,” Alston said. “We were just talking and carrying on and talking about life. I had a meeting with coach Ted Monachino and we talked it up. It was great.”
Alston will now have a few days to nail down his final decision, and he said he’ll judge the programs by the factors that are most important to him.
“I’d say great staff, great academic school and they’re caring coaches,” Alston said. “I’d say the big things are academics and coaching staff.”