Tamarion Watkins leaving Palmetto State, picks Texas A&M
On Monday, Northwestern High School product and Rock Hill native Tamarion Watkins announced his college commitment. A back-and-forth affair in recent weeks ended with the talented safety announcing his pledge to the Texas A&M Aggies.
Watkins picked A&M over Carolina and, to a lesser extent, fellow finalists Miami and Georgia. It is expected that he will play linebacker if he sticks with his commitment to Mike Elko’s program. South Carolina defensive backs coach Torrian Gray had been recruiting him as a safety.
The Gamecocks likely won’t stop recruiting Watkins despite what happened on Monday afternoon. The talented prospect could remain a flip target for Shane Beamer and his staff.
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The Rivals Industry Ranking–a weighted composite of the rankings from Rivals/On3, 247Sports, and ESPN–considers Watkins a three-star prospect and the No. 409 player in the country. He’s also the No. 35 safety nationally and the No. 8 overall player in South Carolina.
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The Gamecocks already have one four-star safety committed in the 2026 class in fellow Rock Hill native J’Zavien Currence. Three-star defensive back pledge KJ Johnson also could wind up playing any position in the secondary.
South Carolina fans will turn their recruiting attention to the offensive side of the ball next. Four-star, top 100 national prospect Landon Duckworth plans to announce his college choice on Friday, July 18th. Duckworth is the No. 84 overall player in the Rivals Industry Ranking and the No. 7 national quarterback recruit. The Gamecocks are the favorite, but Ole Miss, Florida State, North Carolina, and Auburn are his other finalists. More recently, USC and Auburn were the two teams at front of mind for Duckworth.
