During the second quarter of the NFL Network's airing of the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, running back David Williams of Philadelphia, PA announced his intentions to play his college football at South Carolina, picking the Gamecocks over Penn State and Arizona State. Williams' commitment, though not unexpected, is a big get for the Gamecocks after having a pair of four star commits in Brendan Langley and Matt Rolin flip to intradivision rivals Georgia and Florida, respectively.
Williams said that he thinks he fits perfectly into South Carolina's offense and that he'll have an opportunity to play early. He also mentioned that the number of times the coaching staff came up to visit him made a big impression.
Williams is a 4 star recruit and the 134th overall prospect in the 2013 class, according to the 247 Sports Composite rating, which also ranks him as the 7th-best all-purpose back in the country. The recruiter of record is QB coach G.A. Mangus, who continues his recent run of success recruiting the Northeast.
Ngakoue says its down to three
LB Yannick Ngakoue of Washington, DC was at the Under Armour Game this week said he was down to a final three of USC, Maryland and Florida. The four star ILB is set to announce a decision on National Signing Day. He is expected to be in town for South Carolina's big official visit weekend on January 18th.
Joining Ngakoue on that visit will be Jonathan Walton...
Waltson sets official visit date with USC
LB Jonathan Walton of Mobile, AL met with USC linebackers coach Kirk Botkin Friday and set his official visit to USC for January 18th.
USC staying in touch with Rudolph
The Gamecocks currently have all of their eggs placed squarely in the Drew Barker basket for 2014, but Northwestern junior QB Mason Rudolph is someone they're staying in touch with at this point in the recruiting process. Rudolph has been offered by LSU and Virginia Tech thus far and is looking for more. USC is among the other schools showing some interest.
Senat will visit USC this month
USC is working its way into a strong position with DL Deadrin Senat, but - depending on what happens with OL Na'Ty Rodgers and Ngakoue - I'd be curious to know if Senat is a take at this point. If USC lands those three, they'll be at 22 for the class, which is the NCAA sanction-mandated cap.