2026 RB Carsyn Baker (6-2 190) of Fairburn, GA had been to a game at USC during the daytime. What he had never experienced was a game at Williams-Brice Stadium under the lights. He checked that box a couple of weeks ago when the Gamecocks upset then 10th ranked Texas A&M in primetime.
“When I visited South Carolina, I was looking at the atmosphere of a night game,” Baker said. “I’d never been to a night game there. I had been there earlier. I looked at how they used the running back on offense. He had 230-something all-purpose yards. I was just amazed with the way Coach (Marquise) Blackwell used his running back throughout the game.”
Baker kept his eyes on Gamecock running back Rocket Sanders who rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 92 yards. What he saw was a running back who reminding him of what he might be able to do in the same uniform.
“I’m good at running the ball, and with my feet, I can make people miss and get into the open field out of the backfield and score too,” Baker said. “The way Rocket was doing it, I was like, dang, I can see myself doing that one day in the South Carolina offense.”
Blackwell and head coach Shane Beamer have let Baker know they would love to have him.
“I’m a priority for their 2026 recruiting class and they are going to be recruiting me hard,” Baker said. “I can really see that in the way they are recruiting me. They are just on me a lot and making sure South Carolina is one of the schools I try to pick. They are most definitely one of my top schools. When I dropped my top 13, they were inside of it.”
Joining the Gamecocks in the top 13 were some real heavyweights of the game….Alabama, Tennessee, Southern Cal, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Miami and Penn State. He also has Kentucky, Auburn, Louisville and Pitt on the short list. The Gamecocks not might yet have that championship brand of some of the others, but Baker sees a promising future for the Gamecocks.
“I can see what Coach Beamer is doing at South Carolina as he’s progressing over the years, and the recruiting class he’s bringing in, they are not downgrading,” Baker said. “You can tell how everything is starting to click together. You can see them get close to a lot of great teams, but they just don’t have enough to pull it out, and I feel like in the next couple of years they’ll be able to do it.”
Baker has also been to games this season at Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville and Florida. He also just added an offer from Wisconsin on Monday.
In nine games this season Baker has rushed for 878 yards and nine touchdowns and has averaged 9.3 yards per carry. For his career he has rushed for 1800 yards, 9.3 yards per carry, and 20 touchdowns.