The Crootin’ Notebook: South Carolina extends new offers, two players to transfer, Spurs Up Day recap

Welcome to The Crootin’ Notebook - Garnet and Black Attack’s first and foremost compendium of all things Gamecock recruiting.

As TCN grows through a collection of profiles, interviews, news and analysis, it is our hope that you - the fans - gain a deep understanding of the recruitment process as a whole and a stronger sense of the future of South Carolina football.

South Carolina made advances on a pair of prospects for the 2019 class on Tuesday, extending offers to Georgia linebacker King Mwikuta and Alabama cornerback Reddy Steward.

Mwikuta already has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Florida and Lousiville. After hearing from the Gamecocks, he told The Big Spur that he plans to visit Columbia soon and will make his final decision around this time next year.

Defensive line coach Lance Thompson personally offered Steward at his school in Decator, AL after watching his film. As of right now, Steward’s only other offer is from Michigan. He plans to visit the Gamecocks this summer.

Wideman, Taylor transferring from South Carolina

Head coach Will Muschamp announced Tuesday afternoon that two former four-star defensive tackles, Dexter Wideman and Stephon Taylor, are no longer part of the program.

Wideman, a redshirt sophomore, will be transferring to South Carolina State while Taylor, a redshirt freshman, will look for an opportunity closer to home in New Orleans.

While neither player was able to live up to their four-star potential, the departures still do not bode well for a team that is already shallow along the defensive front. Muschamp will be relying heavily on the incoming class to make an early impact.

Notes from Spurs Up Day

On Saturday Muschamp led a gathering of commits, prospects and their families in the spring Spurs Up Day event. With a focus on building relationships and learning about Columbia, the attendees took part in activities including a scavenger hunt and a pick-up basketball game.

Highly touted class of 2018 tight end Gavin Schoenwald of Brentwood, TN was one of the priority targets in attendance on Saturday. He did not name a top school, but South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Duke are all known to be high on his list. Schoenwald is expected to announce a decision sometime this summer, before his senior season starts.

Cordele, GA Linebacker Quay Walker, who has had Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Auburn as his top schools for a while, told SportsTalk on Saturday that the Gamecocks were now in his top five. Safety Jaycee Horn of Alpharetta, GA said that USC was in his top three with Alabama and Tennessee.

Other top targets in attendance were Shelby, NC linebacker Dax Hollifield, Tucker, GA offensive tackle Dylan Wonnum and Hampton, GA safety Trey Dean.