South Carolina and Clemson have a chance to make some recruiting noise Friday and Saturday as prospects for both are ready to make their commitment announcements. Friday, OT Juan Gaston of Atlanta (6-8 330) will reveal his choice from USC, Tennessee, Georgia and Oregon. Those were his four official visits in June. He also visited USC for a game in October and a junior day in January. The recruiting networks have been talking up Georgia the most for him.
The Gamecocks and Tigers will learn Friday if one of them has won out for SAF Kendall Daniels (6-3 187) of Norfolk, VA. They are in his final three along with Virginia Tech. Daniels was not offered by the Tigers until May 30th while he was there for an unofficial visit. He does have a teammate committed to Clemson. Daniels made official visits in June to USC and Virginia Tech. He has a former teammate who is a freshman with the Gamecocks. The recruiting networks are all projecting Daniels to South Carolina.
Also Friday, WR Dillon Alfred (6-0 178) of Saraland, AL will name either Clemson or Ole Miss as his choice. He was once committed to Ole Miss, and when he decommitted in June, Clemson quickly offered. He visited both schools the end of last week with Ole Miss getting the final in person shot over the weekend. Ole Miss has been the pick of the recruiting networks.
The suspense will spill over into Saturday for the Gamecocks. They are on the short list with DE Jared Smith (6-6 230) of Alabaster, AL along with Auburn, Georgia and Ole Miss. He took official visits to all four in June, and he was back at Auburn last weekend. All four schools have been in regular contact with Smith this week. All the network projections as of Thursday night were for Auburn.
Saturday’s other announcement of Gamecock interest will come from OG Jaylen Gilchrist (6-6 320) of Virginia Beach. He has USC, Maryland and Georgia as his finalists. Those were his three official visits in June. He went back to Maryland for another look last Saturday. Gilchrist visited USC for a pair of games last season, and he was in for a junior day in January. The Gamecocks have been on Gilchrist since last year and he’s visited them more than any of the other schools. All three of the recruiting networks are projecting Gilchrist to South Carolina.
USC Thursday offered DT Joseph Mbatchou (6-6 285) of Cameroon and Loganville, GA. The offer came a day after he committed to Florida. Those are his only two P4 offers at this point. He also has offers from Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Buffalo, Toledo, Georgia Southern and others.
2026 Gaffney QB Jayvon Gilmore committed to Arkansas on Thursday. He chose the Razorbacks over NC State, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. He visited Arkansas last week along with stops at USC and Louisville.