WR Amiri Acker (6-2 186) of Crescent went shopping in Columbia on Thursday for an offer from South Carolina, and after flashing his speed and receiving skills in front of wide receivers coach Mike Furrey, Acker got what he was looking for.
“Coach Furrey called me about 20 minutes after the camp,” Acker said. “We talked it up a little bit, and then he told me the good news. ‘We are going to offer you.’ He told me congratulations. What did I think? I was thinking I was just blessed. I was very happy. I couldn’t stop laughing on the phone. Everything was great. I’m just blessed to have this offer. It’s close to home. It’s SEC. That’s just building my confidence up more.”
Furrey saw Acker perform in the spring and loved his size and speed. But he wasn’t totally convinced he was scholarship worthy at the time. So, he had Acker come to Thursday’s camp so he could see him run and also work him out through a variety of receiver drills.
“I went there, performed great like I should have,” Acker said. “I made some great plays for them to see, as I was expected to do. I feel like I have more to develop, but that’s what college is for. It’s a blessing, and I’m grateful I got offered. What stood out was probably my speed and how I was making plays. I ran a 4.45.”
On Wednesday, Acker camped at Clemson and showed off his skills to receivers coach Tyler Grisham.
“They said they would get back to my coach soon. They just haven’t let me know anything yet,” Acker said. “I performed good there as well. They said they are going to keep in touch with me.”
Acker was scheduled for an official visit to Kentucky this weekend, but that’s been scratched and won’t be rescheduled. He does plan to take his scheduled official visits to Liberty on June 13th and to East Carolina on June 20th. He plans to take his official visit to South Carolina the weekend of the Vanderbilt game in September.
Some of his other offers include NC State, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, Troy, Georgia Southern, Marshall and USF. He named a top five of USC, Cincinnati, Liberty, East Carolina and Georgia Tech.
Last season, Acker caught 28 passes for 604 yards and six touchdowns.