New South Carolina offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has done well thus far for the Gamecocks in attracting interest to the program by some of his former TCU targets in Texas. One of those is WR Brody Knowles (6-5 190) of Southlake, a suburb of Dallas, and perennial power in the state. The Gamecocks were not a consideration for Knowles until Briles got in touch once he landed in Columbia.
“I really didn’t know much about them until Coach Briles got the job from TCU. He was a big part of TCU recruiting me,” Knowles said. “Now he’s at South Carolina, so I started looking into their program, and I loved what I saw. He called me a couple of weeks back, and he offered me. That was pretty special.”
USC receivers coach Mike Furrey jumped in on Knowles once Briles broke the ice, but it’s with Briles that Knowles has the strongest connection at this point.
“I like how upfront he is, and I like how he runs his offense,” Knowles said. “He’s got a great track record. And Coach Furrey, he’s been great too. I’ve talked to him a couple of times.”
From his conversations with Briles and Furrey, Knowles said they would have a good plan for him in the Gamecock offense.
“They can definitely see me making plays in their offense, being a tall, big receiver, one that can go get the ball, get the jump ball,” Knowles said. “They said I’m a really good route runner too, especially for my size. They see me thriving in their offense.”
Knowles said he will visit USC for the first time this spring to see a practice. He is also tentatively down for an official visit to Columbia on May 1st. Official visits that are definite are Illinois April 10th, TCU May 29th, Arkansas June 5th, and Kentucky June 12th. He said Oklahoma and Utah are two other possible official visits.
Knowles said there’s no favorite at this point, and he plans to make his decision in late June or early July following his official visits.
As a sophomore, Knowles had 39 catches for 544 yards and eight touchdowns. Last season, he caught 36 passes for 816 yards and seven touchdowns.
His brother Graham, who is 6-7, 230, is a quarterback at Georgia Tech, and his dad was a tennis Grand Slam doubles champion and was once ranked number one in the world.