One by one, the top prospects at star studded Jackson High School are making their commitments. Wednesday, it was safety Jamarrion Gordon to North Carolina. Thursday, it was running back it was EJ Crowell to Alabama.
The spotlight now intensifies with quarterback Landon Duckworth. He has been deciding between South Carolina and Auburn.
A significant event Thursday may have moved Duckworth closer to a decision. Auburn was able to turn QB Peyton Falzone from Penn State, so the Tigers have a 2026 quarterback in the fold.
Shane Beamer doesn’t have a quarterback committed in the 2026 class for South Carolina. He’s continuing to set his sights solely on Duckworth.
“I talked with Coach Beamer the other day and he said Landon is our guy, he’s our #1,” Flournoy said Thursday. “We know Landon is going to do it before August, and Coach Beamer said that’s great, not a problem. One of the things he did say, though, was the sooner our quarterback commits, the sooner the rest of the pieces fall in place. What his point was, once your quarterback is in place, your quarterback becomes a recruiting tool for you to get receivers to play for you. People want to play with you. I passed that on to Landon and his family.”
Beamer got the last in person recruiting meeting with Duckworth last weekend before the start of the dead period. It was another opportunity for Beamer and his staff to sell the virtues of the program, the University and the city of Columbia to Duckworth and his mother.
“Nothing earth shattering,” Coach Flournoy said of what came out of that weekend visit. “Between him and the mom, there wasn’t really anything that stood out, just that it was a good, positive visit. I still think they are feeling really good about South Carolina. At one point, Auburn had a strained relationship with Landon, but they’ve had an about face here the last year. But South Carolina’s relationship with Landon has always been positive. In my mind, South Carolina is the front runner.”
The Gamecocks did add a quality receiver prospect to the 2026 class Thursday night in Sequel Patterson, the kind of pickup Beamer no doubt hopes will spark a final decision in his favor from Duckworth sooner than later.