VIDEO: Breaking down Jaron Willis' game
South Carolina added a potential instant impact player to its defense Sunday when Ole Miss transfer portal linebacker Jaron Willis announced a pledge to the Gamecocks.
A former four-star prospect out of high school, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder was on an official visit to South Carolina over the weekend.
On GC Live earlier this week, we broke down what he could potentially bring to the program. Check out the video below…
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“It was pretty good, like really family vibes and just now I feel really close to home and my folks can come to the games,” Willis told Gamecock Central. “It’s just a great opportunity for me and my family. It’s just all about what I’ve got to do now to just put on for my city and just show out. And also the fans. There’s just a lot of fans, man.”
Prior to enrolling at Ole Miss and subsequently entering the NCAA transfer portal in December, Willis was ranked the No. 209 overall recruit in the nation in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the On3 Consensus.
Willis had a prior relationship with South Carolina defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Clayton White and he nearly took a late visit to South Carolina out of high school but it never happened.
“Coach White, we had been talking before my commitment to Ole Miss and then we really hadn’t been talking after that but once I entered my name in the portal, we’ve been building that relationship back. Coach (Shane) Beamer, he seemed like he was really excited to have me and it’s just all love from them now.”
Willis was the No. 21 linebacker in his class and the No. 22 overall player in the state of Georgia, hailing from Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County, the same school as South Carolina running back Juju McDowell.
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The visit allowed Willis and McDowell the chance to reconnect and the Carolina running back was, of course, doing his best to recruit his former teammate.
“He was just excited. I just left him, so we were just talking and having fun and just thinking about the days in high school and how much fun we had playing with each other,” Willis said. “Now it’s in college, it’s going to be real fun. He really wasn’t pushing me too hard, it was more like ‘Make the best decision for you’, but you really can’t deny Juju.”
The former Blue Chip prospect will join a South Carolina linebacking corps that is replacing both of its starters, Brad Johson and Sherrod Greene, from its 2022 defense.
“I’ll just play all of the linebacker spots, really, just learn all of them but really the main focus now is the WILL linebacker spot,” Willis said. “I’m really just trying to fit in on the defense and earn an opportunity to play.”
Willis will go through spring practice with the Gamecocks and will enroll at Carolina in the next week or so.
He has four years of eligibility left to play after redshirting with the Rebels this season. He did not record any stats while appearing in one contest this year.
Earlier on Sunday, South Carolina added a commitment from Western Illinois transfer portal offensive lineman Sidney Fugar.
