Gamecocks land huge commitment in four-star Sunshine State LB Grayson "Pup" Howard!
There’s a new highest-rated commitment in the 2023 South Carolina football recruiting class.
Jacksonville (Fla.) Andrew Jackson On3Consensus four-star linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard announced his pledge to the Gamecocks on Monday afternoon, providing a major recruiting win for defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Clayton White.
The 6-foot-3, 208-pound blue chip linebacker chooses South Carolina over finalists Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M, though it was the Gators who served as the Gamecocks’ biggest threat.
Howard also held numerous other major offers including from Florida State, Tennessee, Southern Cal, Texas, Penn State, Michigan and Miami, to name a few.
The On3 Consensus – a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies – ranks Howard as the No. 247 overall player in the country, No. 19 linebacker in the nation and No. 49 player from the state of Florida.
As the Industry Comparison tool shows, Howard is considered a four-star prospect in three of the four major recruiting services’ rankings, with Rivals as the lone service to rank him as a high three-star prospect.
On3’s analysts are particularly high on Howard, ranking him as the No. 7 linebacker in the country, the No. 130 overall prospect, and No. 29 prospect in Florida for 2023.
The commitment of Howard serves as a major win over some of college football’s heavy hitters for a Gamecock football staff that has prioritized Howard from the beginning.
South Carolina had hosted Howard on numerous recruiting visits including games, a junior day, the spring game and this past weekend for his official visit.
Howard was one of 10 previously uncommitted South Carolina football targets to take his official visit to the school over the weekend and the second among that group to announce a commitment to the Gamecocks.
Mableton (Ga.) Pebblebrook three-star wide receiver C.J. Adams committed on Sunday night.
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer predicted a “great” month of June for his program and he’s delivered.
Adams and Howard served as the eighth and ninth commitments to the program this month giving the Gamecocks 11 total pledges for the class of 2023.
Howard had an incredibly productive junior season, accounting for 157 tackles (95 solo), 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, six pass deflections, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Stick with Gamecock Central for more on Howard and what his pledge means for the program.
