South Carolina football continues climb up 2026 recruiting rankings
On Thursday, 4-star safety prospect J’Zavien Currence announced his commitment to the Gamecocks. Rated as the No. 94 overall prospect and No. 1 player in the Palmetto State, Currence was the fifth pledge in the class of 2026 for Shane Beamer’s program. The USC haul also includes three other 4-star pledges and one more in-state commitment. The commit list also includes 4-star linebacker Rodney Colton, 4-star tight end Jamel Howse, 4-star linebacker/EDGE Keenan Britt, and 3-star offensive lineman Anthony Baxter.
According to On3’s industry rankings, the South Carolina football recruiting class is 7th in the country in the 2026 cycle. They are also ranked third in the SEC. Only Oregon, Southern Cal, Penn State, Texas, Auburn, and Florida State rank higher than the Gamecocks. Four of those teams have more players committed in their current classes.
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For Gamecock fans, the fast and furious recruiting start for 2026 is reminiscent of 2024. Back then, Shane Beamer’s team secured commitments from blue-chip prospects like Kam Pringle, Josiah Thompson, Wendell Gregory, Mazeo Bennett, Michael Smith, and Kelvin Hunter before their junior year of high school ended.
However, 2026 efforts are off to a faster start as momentum two years ago got rolling after the New Year. At this same point in 2024, the Gamecocks had just two commitments. Quarterback Dante Reno stuck with his pledge, while defensive back Karson Hobbs decommitted from the class and eventually flipped to Notre Dame.
The potential for an elite 2026 class is there. The Gamecocks already have the top duo in the state committed (Currence and Howse), and as GamecockCentral’s Chris Clark reported on Friday, USC is in the game for several other intriguing players from the Palmetto State.
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South Carolina also earned a recent commitment from 2026 wide receiver Jordon Gidron, but Gidron reclassified to the ’25 cycle. The Gamecocks rank 21st nationally in On3’s 2025 team recruiting rankings, but indications are that Carolina is far from done. Shane Beamer and his staff still are heavily recruiting several players in the cycle, both in-state and from outside South Carolina’s borders.
The 2023 and 2024 South Carolina football recruiting classes finished inside the top 20 national classes. Both 2025 and 2026 have realistic chances to follow suit. The stretch of strong recruiting is the program’s best since the height of the Steve Spurrier era. The Gamecocks had four straight top-20 classes from 2011-2014.
One unannounced #WelcomeHome has yet to come forward. At this time, it is unknown if the mystery commitment is part of the 2025 or 2026 class.
