Four-star DT Darius Whitfield commits to South Carolina despite Steve Spurrier resignation; Brandon McIlwain remains on board

After the South Carolina Gamecocks lost P.J. Blue after news of Steve Spurrier's resignation went public last night, the program was surprisingly able to add a player. It's Mobile (Al.) St. Paul's defensive tackle Darius Whitfield, who announced his decision earlier this afternoon shortly after Spurrier's press conference this afternoon.

It's safe to say very few people saw this coming. It's also safe to say that this is a pretty good get for the team, especially with all the events that have taken place. Whitfield is the fifth-ranked player in Alabama regardless of position according to Rivals.com and ranked as the #18 DT. At 247Sports, he is #10 in the state. Kirk Botkin was the primary recruiter for Whitfield, who held Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU, and Ole Miss as offers. Interestingly enough, neither Alabama or Auburn offered him, but South Alabama did.

Elsewhere on the trail, the Gamecocks got some good news from a current big-time commit. We had surmised that Brandon McIlwain was still firmly committed to the program. He tweeted this on Tuesday evening:

I love SC for many reasons, while Coach Spurrier was one of them I respect his decision and I am still fully committed to SC #WECOCKY

— Brandon McIlwain (@BFMcIlwainqb12) October 14, 2015

More news from the recruiting trail later in the week.