A reminder for the "South Carolina is taking a lot of 3-stars" crowd
Midway through June and South Carolina has seen a wave of commitments.
Since June 8, the Gamecocks have landed eight commitments. Of the eight, seven have gone public with their pledges. Those players include four-star IOL Shed Sarratt, three-star LB Jaquel Holman, three-star LB AJ Holloway three-star EDGE Kobby Sakyi-Prah, three-star TE Preston Douglas, three-star S Christopher Hatfield, and K/P Max Kelley. As of this story, Kelley hasn’t been given a star rating yet. He’s considered the No.14 kicker in the country according to Kohl’s Kicking.
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As you can probably tell, a lot of these commitments have been three-star prospects.
Now, I’m not here to tell you that you shouldn’t care about the number of stars someone has next to their names. Or to give you the same overused spiel about how South Carolina greats like Connor Shaw and DJ Swearinger were three-stars coming out of high school. Or even how Trovon Baugh went from being a consensus three-star for the class of 2023 to being a Freshman All-American last season. Instead, let’s just go back to last summer.
A year ago, Fred Johnson and Matthew Fuller were both listed as three-star prospects. I remember the same peanut gallery complaining about these “three-stars” when they committed. When it was all said and done, both players shot up the rankings to earn their status as four-stars. Not only that, but Johnson finished as the No.15 consensus linebacker in the country for the 2024 class while Fuller is now considered the No.13 running back by On3.
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So what’s my point?
It’s freaking June 18. Don’t get so caught up on how many stars are next to some of these players names for South Carolina right now. Because some, like we’ve seen in recent years, will move up to being four-stars when it’s all said and done. More importantly, they’re landing players who they believe will be able to play in their system.
One of those players is Sumter native Anthony Addison. Only Rivals has the consensus 3-star listed as a 4-star, but for good reason. Standing at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he uses his length and speed to get around the corner and has a knack for getting to the quarterback. What stands out to me when watching his tape is that not only was he mainly playing in a four and five technique, but he was being used in both three and four down man fronts. With the Gamecocks playing more of a 3-3-5 look on defense, his fit into their system is more valuable than the number of stars that appear before his name.
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Another, is defensive tackle Caleb Williams. Only 247Sports currently has the 6-foot-6, 260-pound currently listed as a four-star. Racking up 95 tackles, 15 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, and an interception last season, he’s big, but has quickness for his size, and plays with violence.
These are just two examples for this year’s class. A class that isn’t even close to being done with.
