One of the major offensive line targets being recruited by South Carolina OL coaches Randy Clements and Jason Smith will make his official visit with the Gamecocks this weekend, and he can’t wait to get back to the Capital City. Stafford Willis made two unofficial visits this spring, one in March and one in April. However, those were the appetizers for the main course he’s about to be served this weekend.
“I’m super excited about it,” Willis said. “I’ve been on two unofficial visits, and me and my mom and dad are really excited. It’s our first OV of the season, so we’re excited for it. It’s going to be a really fun one. And I know they are excited to see me. It’s going to be a good one.”
Unlike his other visits, when he got to watch the Gamecocks practice, the official visit will allow Willis the chance to get inside the program, and see what life is like inside the walls of the football facilities.
“I’ll get to be around the team, just their players a lot, and I’m excited for that,” Willis said. “A longer duration that I’ll be around Coach Clements and Coach Smooth. Be around Coach Beamer a lot. I’m excited just getting to know them more and get a full in-depth view of what South Carolina is really all about. I have a really good perspective of what they are because of my previous visits, but now I’ll get a full experience of how they operate and everything about them. I’m looking forward to that.”
From his previous conversations with Clements and Smith, Willis said he already has a good idea of what their game plan would be for him should he come aboard.
“They see me as a tackle-guard hybrid,” Willis said. “I’m long and athletic enough to play tackle, but strong enough and have the mindset to play guard. Knowing that, it’s cool I’ll be able to play both sides. I’m not stuck at either. Just makes me more likely to see the field faster. That’s encouraging. What I’m looking forward to the most is just being around the coaches more and the players, really experiencing the team culture that they have around.”
After the visit with the Gamecocks, for which is parents will join him, Willis will visit UCLA May 15th, Oklahoma State May 29th, Virginia Tech June 5th and Arkansas June 19th.
Clemson hasn’t offered, but does have interest. He visited there on March 30th, and OL coach Matt Luke made an in-home visit with him recently.
“Their process is a little bit different,” Willis said. “They said that they wanted to get through this entire spring being on the road. They like me a lot. Coach Luke came for dinner at the house, and we spent two, three, or four hours together, and it was great. I should be hearing from them in the next couple of weeks. I still have the June 12-14 visit weekend open. I kind of left that one open so that anybody that comes in this spring with a late offer, or something mixes up, I still have that weekend open. They would be one that I would like to official visit then, but there are also other schools….Florida State, Virginia, Alabama, Nebraska. There’s a handful there still in the works.”
As for a favorite going into his visits, Willis said he’s not quite there yet, but South Carolina is a strong player with him.
“I don’t really have a one through five, or something like that, but they are very high in where I see myself playing,” Willis said. “I really like South Carolina.”