STRecruiting: South Carolina reportedly spent big to land its current top 2027 commitment in cornerback Joshua Dobson

Who can become a millionaire these days? Apparently, highly talented high school teenagers.

According to a Pete Nakos story Thursday on Rivals, Tennessee landed highly coveted running back David Gabriel-Georges with a two-million-dollar NIL offer. Nakos cited sources for his information without disclosing if he had actually seen the contract between the two parties.

Also noteworthy in his story, Nakos reported South Carolina landed cornerback Joshua Dobson, formerly of Catawba Ridge and now at Hough High in Cornelius, NC, with a $1.5 million NIL deal. Again, Nakos cited sources for his information.

According to the Rivals High School NIL Valuation table, Dobson is the sixth highest-paid high school football recruit in the country, regardless of class, and including the incoming freshmen of the 2026 class. However, according to the table, Dobson’s NIL deal has not been confirmed by Rivals.

If Dobson were able to play for the Gamecocks this season, he would become the third-highest-paid player on the team, per the Rivals NIL table. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers and defensive end Dylan Stewart are both listed as making $2 million this season through their verified NIL deals. The next highest amount nationally in the table is $1.2 million.

By comparison, Stephon Gilmore, arguably the greatest cornerback in Gamecock history, made a base salary of $390,000 in his rookie season with Buffalo in 2011. Of course, he did have a signing bonus of $7,228,480 according to Spotrac.

Nakos wrote that Dobson is the highest-ranked defensive commitment ever for the Gamecocks, which is not correct, considering Rivals ranked defensive end Jadeveon Clowney as the #1 player in the country in the class of 2011.

In his story, Nakos wrote about nine different 2027 football recruits with offers of a million dollars or more from colleges.

The Rivals NIL Valuation page does not include a Clemson commitment or incoming freshman among the top 100 highest-paid players in the country.

Rivals NIL Valuation table