Ryan Hilinski reaffirms his commitment to South Carolina

A few weeks ago, Ryan Hilinski received a “dream” offer from the Stanford Cardinal. The South Carolina pledge told Rivals.com that it had been one that he had been waiting for since the sixth grade.

Would that change anything with his commitment to the Gamecocks? As it turns out, not at all. The Orange (Ca.) Lutheran star reaffirmed his commitment today - his 18th birthday - and will be taking an official visit to Columbia when the Gamecocks host Tennessee this weekend.

The “Forever To Three” isn’t a mistake on Hilinski’s part.

At first look, it may appear that Hilinski fat-fingered the letter “r” in his tweet, but when you get to know his story, you’ll realize that it was done on purpose. Ryan’s older brother Tyler, a former quarterback at Washington State, tragically committed suicide in January. The younger Hilinski wears a wristband with the number 3 to honor his brother’s memory.

Hilinski had every reason to flip to Stanford, but in the end, he decided to stay all-Gamecock.

For a young man that was born and raised on the West Coast, taking his talents to Palo Alto to play for David Shaw and the Cardinal would have been an easy choice. But you have to give credit to Hilinski. In a day and age where players flip commitments left and right, he stuck to his guns. A bonus: his parents will be purchasing a home in Columbia, so he’ll have them close by as a strong support system.

Where does Ryan Hilinski rank among quarterbacks in the 2019 recruiting class?

As it turns out, quite high. Hilinski is considered by 247Sports as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country behind Oklahoma commit Spencer Rattler. In the state of California, he’s considered the No. 8 player regardless of position, while on a national level he’s ranked just inside the top 50 at No. 49. He projects to be a nice, strong talent at quarterback for Will Muschamp and company.