South Carolina took advantage of their home game with Akron last Saturday to bring in several prospects who are currently committed to other schools. One of those was DT Joseph Mbatchou (6-6 285) of Loganville, GA and a native of Cameroon who has been committed to Florida since the end of July. He visited USC with his father, brother and some teammates.
“I had a good time at South Carolina,” Mbatchou said. “It was a good game. It really showed that South Carolina is serious about what they do. I talked to some of the coaches, and they were like, no matter what team they play, they are going to give their hundred. You could really see that against a team like Akron, how they did it to Akron. Really shows the hard work and dedication they’ve been putting in.”
USC defensive line coach Travian Robertson is recruiting Mbatchou.
“He said he thinks I would be a good fit into their defensive scheme,” Mbatchou said. “It would be good for me to go to South Carolina and develop, and I’d fit into the scheme there. I think I need to see a game against a better team to really get a full picture of how I could see myself fitting in. Right now, I’m going to try to take an OV to South Carolina, but I really need to see a game against a better team for me to form a real opinion on them.”
At the very least, the Gamecocks helped themselves with Mbatchou as a result of his night at Williams-Brice.
“It definitely moved them up some,” Mbatchou said. “Getting to meet the coach and putting a face on the number. I just need to go and see another game against a better team.”
However, the commitment to Florida still stands, and all is good in Gainesville this week for coach Billy Napier thanks to their win last Saturday at Mississippi State.
“Me and Florida are still good,” Mbatchou said. “I was really happy they came out with the win on Saturday. If they had lost and went into the next game with another loss, that would have set everything over the edge and given Coach Napier a lot more pressure because people would have been more upset. You have to win games like that. With a scheduled like Florida’s, the schedule is only going to get harder.”
This season Mbatchou has also visited Florida, Auburn and Texas. This Saturday he is going to Alabama. He also has official visits planned for when Auburn hosts Georgia and for when Texas hosts Florida.