South Carolina wraps up early signing period

The bulk of South Carolina’s 2022 recruiting class is now in the fold, as the program concluded the early signing period on Wednesday by officially inking 18 new Gamecocks. Here’s a quick overview of the group that currently sits at No. 23 nationally (11th in the SEC), according to 247’s composite rankings:

3* DB Kajuan Banks

4* LB Stone Blanton

3* OL Ryan Brubaker

4* QB Braden Davis

3* DB/LB Nick Emmanwori

3* DB Emory Floyd

3* OL Cason Henry

3* DT Felix Hixon

3* OL Grayson Mains

3* DT D’Andre Martin

4* DB Keenan Nelson Jr.

3* DB Anthony Rose

3* WR Landon Samson

3* TE Zavier Short

3* EDGE Bryan Thomas

3* EDGE Donovan Westmoreland

3* DT Jamaal Whyce

3* DT Peyton Williams

• Linebacker Stone Blanton arguably headlines the class, as he was a coveted prospect who also plays baseball and will see time on the diamond for South Carolina. The Gamecocks wrestled him away from Mississippi State, which is all the more impressive given that school’s recent baseball title.
• Braden Davis is probably the next-biggest name, as he is the lone quarterback prospect in this class but has a four-star resume and the distinction of earning Gatorade’s Player of the Year honor in Delaware this past season. Hopefully, there will be much he can learn from incoming starter Spencer Rattler.
• Three-star receiver Kylic Horton and three-star athlete DaQuandre Smith, both in-state prospects, have not yet signed but remain committed.
• Outside of Monday night’s attention-grabbing pickup of Oklahoma transfers Rattler and Austin Stogner, there were no shock-the-world surprises for South Carolina on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Gamecocks were on the losing end of some flippery, as four-star linebacker Jaishawn Barham chose to go to in-state Maryland after he had verbally committed to South Carolina over the past weekend. Barham would’ve been the top-ranked prospect in the class, but it’s hard to get too upset about this recruiting effort in light of South Carolina’s transfer portal success.