Gamecocks football recruiting: P.J. Blue commits; Marlon Character puts Carolina in lead over Auburn

The weekend continues to get better for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Not long after the team received a verbal from JUCO OL Akeem Cooperwood, they grabbed a four-star defensive commitment and grabbed the lead for the services of another.

First, Park Crossing (Ala.) P.J. Blue, ranked as the #4 player in the state of Alabama and the twelfth-best OLB in the country by Rivals, pledged to USC today. He spurned offers from Alabama, Clemson, Ole Miss and Nebraska and will be playing his college ball in Columbia beginning with the 2016 season. Along with Bryan Edwards, he is the second four-star to commit to the team from the high school class of 2016.

The team received a little more good news today. Yesterday, we mentioned that the staff would be working Atlanta (Ga.) Grady safety Marlon Character hard after the senior had announced that Auburn led for his services coming in. While he didn't make the cookout, he was in Columbia for a visit, and the Gamecocks have now come out in the lead. With Steve Spurrier's comments over the past few months surrounding his remaining tenure as the head coach of the team, followed by some high profile decommitments and his statement that he had no plans to leave anytime soon (maybe staying around as much as six more years, as he has been reported telling recruits), the fact that they've gained ground is very encouraging. We'll see what happens with Character as he mulls his options over the next few days and weeks.