STRecruiting: Unheralded and unranked DT Christian McGowan has South Carolina firmly in his sights, with a second straight weekend visit coming up

It’s rare that a large defensive tackle prospect with a dozen offers, including some from Power Four teams, is overlooked by recruiting services. But that’s the case with DT Christian McGowan (6-5, 270) of Jacksonville, FL. Admittedly, he did not have a standout sophomore season, but he has taken off since the summer, and the offers have been rolling in.

“My sophomore season, I wasn’t that good,” McGowan said. “I just now started to get good over the summer. I took my training and my weight seriously. Last season, I was like 6’3, like 230. I was playing inside, and I wasn’t making plays like I’m making now. I have I had three TFLs and one sack in my last game. I only played one quarter because we blew them out. Because of my season last year, that really messed me up, but I’m going to make it up this year.”

McGowan camped at South Carolina in June, and after watching him perform, Gamecock defensive tackles coach Travian Robertson had seen enough to make an offer, regardless of McGowan’s standing in recruiting circles. McGowan visited USC last weekend for the Kent State game, and he’s coming back this Saturday for the Towson game. The Gamecocks and Georgia are his two favorites at this point, with the Gamecocks standing out the most.

“I’m probably going to end up committing when I get my stars (rating),” McGowan said. “I really liked how they treated me. They treated me now like I was actually one of them. A lot of colleges, you can go down for a game, and you’re just on the sideline. But I felt like I was actually part of the team when I was down there. I really value that a lot in recruiting. I get a call every single week, like three times a week. They check on how the week is going, and they help me with my film. They watch my film and make sure I’m doing good.”

That attention to detail in recruiting is important to McGown because it indicates to him the attention to detail Robertson and the staff give to the coaching side of things.

“Coaching is a really big part for me. So, you’re asking about what I like about the program, right?” McGowan asked. ” I really like Beamer. He’s a really good head coach. I really love him. And the D-line coaches, I really like them too. I can tell they coach well. And they have a really good D-line. It’s the SEC; it’s a really good program, and South Carolina is definitely a great school. I really like it.”

McGowan plans to make a third trip to USC for a game this season but hasn’t picked out the date. He also doesn’t have a commitment date, but he’s expecting to get rated by the networks sometimes in November once they’ve seen his film this season. And having a ranking is important to him.

“I just know the day I get my stars, I’m going to make that call,” McGowan said. “I’m going to be a four-star.  I want South Carolina to know that they don’t have just any type of guy. I can commit right now, but I want South Carolina to know that they have a guy coming into the program that actually is going to benefit the program. I know you don’t need stars to be good, but it’s a good thing to have. People are going to know that you’re good. Nobody’s going to know if you’re really that good if you’re unranked. And that matters now in the football world.”

While it sounds like McGowan has his mind set on the Gamecocks at this point, there is still the matter of Georgia.

“They’re not coming at me as hard as South Carolina, but they’re definitely calling me, and they text my dad a lot,” McGowan said. “It’s definitely those two. Those are the ones that are showing me serious, serious interest. Those are the ones that I seriously like. But I like South Carolina a little bit more than Georgia. If I had to commit right now, it would be South Carolina.”

McGowan added that he’ll make a third trip to Columbia when the Gamecocks play Georgia. He plans to visit Athens when the Bulldogs play Oklahoma.

Along with the USC and Georgia offers, McGowan also has offers from Virginia Tech, Colorado, Syracuse, Liberty, Western Kentucky, South Florida, Toledo, Georgia Southern, and others.