Will it be South Carolina, or will it be Auburn, for QB Landon Duckworth of Jackson, AL? The highly regarded quarterback, who could have his pick of any school in the country, will pick one of those SEC programs sometime in July.
This week, Duckworth is participating in the Elite 11 Finals in California. Last weekend, he made an unofficial visit to Auburn as a follow-up to his official visit there on May 30th. This weekend he will make an unofficial visit to South Carolina as a follow-up to his official visit there on June 6th.
It’s obvious Duckworth is struggling with his decision, or he wouldn’t feel the need to visit each campus one more time. Many recruiting media are predicting the Gamecocks will be his choice for a second time. Remember, Duckworth first committed to USC in August of 2023 before de-committing in June of 2024.
“I think there’s a clearer path for him playing early at South Carolina,” Jackson High coach Cody Flournoy said Wednesday night. “At Auburn, the problem there is Auburn signed the Deuce Knight kid last year. With quarterbacks, it’s one of those things where it’s not just being recruited there, but who did you recruit last year? Who is sitting there waiting to play? Of course, Landon is going to bet on himself. He’s got all that confidence to come in and compete with anybody. But, is there a clear path? Am I really your number one guy, or am I just a good piece you want to put in there? I think that’s where South Carolina’s kind of got the upper hand in that. It’s like, hey, you’re the guy that we’re putting all our eggs in the basket with.”
There’s also the relationship side of things for the Duckworth family with USC head coach Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula.
“His mom likes South Carolina. It’s got an at-home feeling,” Flournoy said. “Coach Beamer has done a good job. Coach Shula has done a good job, and I think there’s a path for him to play early. If everything is equal, I kind of lean South Carolina for him on his commitment. We haven’t sat down and talked about it. He’s been busy all summer.”
However, the coach points out the decision has not been made, and South Carolina is attempting to pull a prize prospect out of an area dominated by the two major in-state schools.
“Down here in Jackson, everybody in this town is either a Bama or Auburn fan,” the coach said. “I don’t know how much that plays into his decision. In my view, I grew up an Auburn fan, but looking at Landon and his prospects, South Carolina is kind of my favorite right now for him. I’m not against Auburn. It’s not a bad option either way. I’m looking at path to play, and who’s been on him from the get-go. South Carolina has been, and they have a clear path for him playing early. That’s my thoughts on it, and take that for what it’s worth.”
Between recruiting trips, summer workouts with his team, seven-on-seven tournaments and now this trip to California, Duckworth has hardly had the time to decompress and analyze his options. However, that time is coming.
“What we need to get to is him having a moment to sit down and process this stuff,” Flournoy said. “The one thing in my role with him is to make sure that, hey, listen, have you thought out everything? I don’t care about money. Money is going to have an impact on it. We know it is, but I think the money is going to be similar no matter where he goes, but I want to make sure, it’s like, hey listen, do you feel comfortable? Are you good? Is everything right? Have you thought about this or that? That’s where we’ve been as a coaching staff with him. We just need to sit down and have that conversation. It’s been an ongoing conversation, but it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been able to get our hands on him and sit down and have that conversation with him. The same thing with his mom, too, because she’s going to have a big impact on where he ends up.”
Duckworth has not given a date for a commitment, but he has said he’d like to make the call in July.