Gamecock Digest

South Carolina Presented Chance To Establish Long-Lasting Pipeline In Savannah

South Carolina's Football staff has a golden opportunity to create a foothold in a city that's seen it's high school football talent blossom in recent years.

Andrew Lyon

South Carolina Presented Chance To Establish Long-Lasting Pipeline In Savannah
South Carolina Presented Chance To Establish Long-Lasting Pipeline In Savannah /

When people ask what South Carolina's recruiting footprint is for football, you'll find that it's comprised of a bevy of states: South Carolina, Georgia, the DMV Region (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia), North Carolina, along with sprinkles of effort in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas. Some coaching staffs focus more on major metropolitan areas, like Atlanta, GA, and Charlotte, NC. One area, however, that's rarely ever been a major recruiting hotspot for South Carolina's football program is Savannah, GA.

Part of that has been because the Hostess City of the South hasn't consistently pumped out Power 4 quality talent. Even at the beginning of Shane Beamer's tenure in Columbia, in the 2021 and 2022 recruiting cycles, only two Savannah natives landed at Power 4 programs. However, that narrative began to change in the 2023 cycle, as four prospects from Savannah landed at Power 4 programs, including a linebacker in Troy Ford Jr., who received an offer from South Carolina.

In the 2024 class, the talent pool grew exponentially as three four-star prospects landed at major Power 4 college football programs, including South Carolina tight end signee Michael Smith. The Gamecocks also signed unheralded three-star safety David Bucey from Savannah Christian School. 

Gamecock TE commit Michael Smith fighting through contact in high school playoff game (25th Nov., 2023)
Gamecock TE commit Michael Smith fighting through contact in high school playoff game (25th Nov., 2023) / Kyunnie Shuman | Savannah Morning News

Despite the immense growth of high school football talent in the area over the past two years, neither group compares to the one coming up in 2025. The aforementioned group consists of one five-star in South Carolina target Elijah Griffin, two four-stars (Thomas Blackshear and Clemson commit Logan Brooking), and 3 three-stars with Gamecock offers.

South Carolina isn't likely to land every single one of their offered targets from Savannah in the 2025 class. Still, if they can land a couple, including Griffin, it would mark the second straight class where the Gamecocks have landed multiple football prospects from the area and make them the only program to do so. 

Beamer and his staff are picking the right time to allocate more resources toward recruiting Savannah-based talent. If they can find success once more in this upcoming cycle, they could become the team to beat for the area's top talent moving forward. Considering their conference affiliation and closer-than-expected proximity to the city, they have a chance to expand their recruiting footprint further into the Peach State, something we probably didn't expect to say just a couple of years ago.

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Andrew Lyon
ANDREW LYON

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