South Carolina and Clemson were two of the programs chasing after DE Rashad Streets (6-3 240) of Raleigh. The Gamecocks made it to the next round. The Tigers did not.
USC was one of six schools Streets announced on Tuesday as his finalists. The others are Oregon, Ohio State, Florida State, Alabama, and NC State. Streets said Tuesday night that those six schools advanced with him because of the blueprint for his future that each program presented.
“The overall plan that they went over with me. Obviously, my relationships played a big part,” Streets said. “All the schools that made my top six have been recruiting me heavily. They’ve been real consistent about it, and they’ve shown that they are serious about me. They gave me a plan of what their vision is of me there. All the position coaches did a great job recruiting me and showed me the plan.”
South Carolina, which offered Streets in January of 2025, made the cut even though the Gamecocks transitioned at defensive end from Sterling Lucas to Deion Barnes, who joined USC from Penn State. However, in this case, that turned out to be a positive for the Gamecocks. Streets and Barnes had already developed a relationship from the coach’s time with the Nittany Lions.
“We were in contact then, so him transitioning over to South Carolina, that’s going to make the move more enticing to me,” Streets said. “I already liked him as a coach, and then he moved to, in my opinion, a better situation. I think we’re pretty in tune, locked in. I’ve been talking to him for a good minute now.”
And what Barnes has been talking to Streets about is how he can help pave the path for him to the NFL.
“He talks about developing me,” Streets said. “Being at Penn State, he developed guys like Chop Robinson, Abdul Carter. That list that he has, he was really showing me about development. Obviously, taking your game to the next level, where I want to be, when I make it to the NFL. Go to the NFL, and develop me, that’s basically his whole plan.”
The six finalists will get spring visits and official visits later on. No dates have been set at this point. Streets also said he does not have a timeline for a decision, nor does he have a leader out of his final six.
Last season, Streets had 103 tackles with 39.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks. He has 41 sacks and 75 tackles for loss over the last two seasons.