South Carolina’s prime quarterback target for the 2026 class, Landon Duckworth of Jackson, AL informed Hayces Fawcett of On3 Wednesday night that he had cut his list to a final two of the Gamecocks and Auburn. As such, he has canceled his scheduled official visits to Florida State and Ole Miss the next two weekends.
But, Duckworth apparently is not finished with his visits. In a separate story, On3, citing sources, reported Duckworth would duck back in to Auburn on Thursday for another visit, which will extend into the weekend. He made his official visit there on May 30th. He was at USC last weekend.
After his visit to Auburn this weekend, Duckworth and his mom will head to Los Angeles for the Elite 11 competition.
Duckworth originally committed to Shane Beamer and South Carolina in August of 2023. But as his stock grew to a national level recruit, and more schools came calling. Duckworth broke off the commitment in June of 2024. He then began to shop around and check out other programs. Yet, Beamer never called it quits with him, and the result of that effort is that he might ultimately get Duckworth’s signature on a contract.
“Coach Beamer has done a great job recruiting him,’ Jackson High head coach Cody Flournoy said Wednesday night prior to the news that Duckworth had cut his list. “Even when he de-committed, Coach Beamer was like, ‘Listen, we understand,’ because he committed so young and so early. They did a good job then. To circle back around, Coach Beamer kept that connection going. It’s relationship based. Landon is in a position where NIL is a factor, but whatever that price is for him, it’s going to be similar across any school that he goes to. Money is always an issue, but it’s not an issue. It’s going to be the relationship, because of where he’s at, and I’m talking about talent wise. He’s going to garner whatever dollar amount that he’s worth at multiple Power Five schools. It comes back to relationships and feeling at home.”
If feeling at home is the deciding factor, then South Carolina should feel good about where it stands with the Duckworth family, starting with the mom.
“She loves South Carolina. She said it feels like home,” Flournoy said. “If that’s anything positive, that’s about as good as I can tell you there. He’s got a great relationship up there. They’ve been up there multiple times. They really like it. Auburn is making a late push on him. Auburn’s quarterback room has gotten totally turned over from last year, so they are making a big, heavy late push on him. We talk about where’s the best fit for you. What does the quarterback room look like there in front of you. South Carolina’s pitch for him is come in and be Quarterback One from the get-go. We know LaNorris Sellers is there, and I think Landon fits a lot of that mold. When he decides to make that jump to the NFL, Landon would step right in and continue a lot of what Sellers has been able to do.”
Duckworth has not publicly indicated a favorite, but now that he’s down to just two programs, it’s obviously a 50-50 deal. However, his coach has an opinion on where he thinks things stand with his star quarterback.
“Coming off the South Carolina visit, to me, I think South Carolina is a favorite right now,” Flournoy said. “Just kind of talking with mom. They’ll make that decision together. They’ve been doing this thing for a long time. Landon and his mom will make a good decision on that end. One of the things that we suggested for them is to try to make the decision before the season. You can make it whenever you want to. We want it to be enjoyable and and fun, and it is, but at the same time, it’s a lot of weight on him. So, we were like, going into your senior year, let’s try to make that decision before the season starts. So, they’ve talked about a late July or maybe early August commitment date.”
Duckworth is a supreme athlete as he’s led his school to state championships in football and basketball, as well as being a top sprinter on the track team. Last season he passed for 3439 yards and 39 touchdowns, and he rushed for 648 yards and 12 touchdowns.