Of the seven uncommitted prospects who made official visits to South Carolina over the weekend, only TE Tilden Riley of Orangeburg Prep stated publicly that he is ready to make his commitment announcement this week. OT Desmond Green is not talking to the media until after he commits. He posted the date 6/26 on his X account last week perhaps indicating a commitment date.
But Riley made it clear Sunday night. He’s ready to end his recruitment.
“I think I’m going to commit maybe this week,” Riley said. “I don’t really know like a day or a time or anything yet, but it should be soon. Me and my parents are going to talk about it and try and decide. I’ll probably just post something on social media. I’m down to three schools right now. It’s Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.”
South Carolina tight ends coach Shawn Elliott offered Riley in early April, and he has really pushed for him ever since. USC head coach Shane Beamer has also been involved, and Riley got the chance to spend time with both over the weekend.
“It was fun,” Riley said. “I liked hanging out with Coach Elliott and Coach Beamer. It was just an overall pretty fun weekend. I enjoyed it. They were telling me people in South Carolina, they take care of kids from South Carolina. They just kind of were talking to me about coming, and they said that they want me to come, basically.”
Riley is a tight end with wide receiver skills. He can get down field and stretch the defense. Elliott showed him how he coached a player like that last season.
“Coach Elliott showed me a lot of Josh Simon’s film from last year, and he had a big year, and he said that I could probably fit into that role that he had last year,” Riley said.
The Gamecocks have one tight end commitment in Jamel Howse of Newberry who also was in for an official visit over the weekend. Vanderbilt also has one tight end commitment for the 2026 class, but Virginia Tech has none.
Last season Riley caught 49 passes for 903 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also plays safety and had four interceptions returning two for touchdowns. He also returns punts and kicks. Riley also plays baseball and basketball for OP.