The South Carolina Gamecocks received a late addition to their incoming freshman class of players on Tuesday when Dutch Fork (Irmo) wide receiver Austin Connor announced that he will be joining the football team as a walk-on for the 2017 season.
However, Connor is not your typical walk-on addition. Per 247Sports Composite, he has a three-star rating and is ranked as the 12th best prospect in the state of South Carolina. Following his junior season, he pulled in Power 5 offers from Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Vanderbilt, among others.
Connor’s mistake was drawing out the recruiting process. He wanted to wait until National Signing Day to commit, but by then all the larger schools he was interested in had filled up at his position.
“I would say take all your visits early and find out the best place to call home,” Connor told The State in January. “I took too long. I didn’t know much and how fast paced dealing with ACC and SEC (schools) during this would be. I thought I could wait until Signing Day but a lot of receivers committed quickly.”
Essentially, Will Muschamp and staff are adding a scholarship caliber player to the roster without having to use one.
Connor was also a high school track star and plans to walk-on for the track team as well. His senior year he was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A in the 100 and 200 meter competitions. He is also a tremendous student, boasting a 4.3 GPA and offers from Harvard and Dartmouth.