Ga. 2018 linebacker Ernest Jones commits to South Carolina

South Carolina picked up its second commitment in three days as Ware County (Ga.) linebacker Ernest Jones announced his pledge at a ceremony tonight. Jones joins running back Deshaun Fenwick (who committed on Wednesday night) as the two newest members of the Gamecocks’ 2018 class.

The 6’2”, 205-pound Jones favored the Gamecocks, Duke, and Georgia Tech, but ultimately settled on South Carolina this evening. He is ranked as the #32 outside linebacker in the class of 2018. With Jones’s pledge, the Gamecocks now have six players committed in the class: Fenwick, guard LaMarius Benson, defensive end Tyreek Johnson, center Hank Manos and tackle Mazwell Iyama.

Jones is the first linebacker to pledge from the class of rising juniors, which will be a position of great need in 2018 with defensive leaders Skai Moore and Bryson Allen-Williams entering their final seasons. Outside of those two and sophomore T.J. Brunson, depth at the position is fairly thin - and with a big fish in Dax Hollifield still in play, they’ll be sure to continue to target that spot.