Where South Carolina football commitments rank as recruiting dead period begins

Following four extremely busy weekends, South Carolina football has wrapped up its official visit season for the summer. Things went extremely well for the Gamecocks, as several prospects jumped in the class of 2026 boat and a long list of other big-time talents are considering doing the same in the near future.

With the recruiting dead period having started on Monday, teams will not have in-person contact with high school prospects until the month of August. Despite that, fans can expect recruiting movement between now and the end of the dead period.

For now, though, let’s take a look at South Carolina football’s team recruiting ranking and the individual rankings of the players committed in the class of 2026.*

*All rankings will come from the On3 industry ranking, a weighted composite from the rankings from On3, 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals*

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At the time of this writing, South Carolina sits at No. 18 in the country in the On3 team recruiting rankings. Shane Beamer’s team has just eight players publicly pledged so far in the class. The Gamecocks are the only team in the top 45 nationally with eight or fewer commitments. Because of that, it is unsurprising that USC is listed higher in average player rating, sitting 11th in the country.

The team’s No. 18 overall ranking puts the Gamecocks eighth in the SEC. Two of the Southeastern Conference squads ahead of South Carolina trail USC in average player rating.

Last year, the Gamecocks landed the No. 18 class in the country, the program’s third-straight top 20 group. The 2025 class also ranked No. 11 in the SEC.

With multiple new pledges likely on the horizon (and two silent commitments already in the boat), let’s take a look at each player currently in the class and where they stand nationally.

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DT Aiden Harris
No. 55 overall
No. 3 nationally among defense linemen
No. 4 in North Carolina

Harris is the highest-rated commit in the On3 industry ranking and is a consensus four-star prospect.

S J’Zavien Currence
No. 98 overall
No. 8 nationally among safeties
No. 1 in South Carolina

Currence is the highest-rated player in the class according to at least one other major recruiting service and a consensus four-star prospect.

OL Zyon Guiles
No. 129 overall
No. 5 nationally among interior offensive linemen
No. 3 in South Carolina

On3’s player rankings have Guiles right on the verge of five-star territory as he is the highest-rated player in the class in those rankings and the No. 1 overall interior offensive lineman in the country. Guiles is also a consensus four-star prospect.

EDGE/LB Andrew Harris
No. 297 overall
No. 33 nationally among EDGE players
No. 15 in North Carolina

South Carolina likes Harris at linebacker, rather than EDGE. If his recruiting rating didn’t change, he would rank as the No. 20 linebacker nationally. As things stand, he is a four-star according to three major recruiting outlets.

TE Jamel Howse
No. 302 overall
No. 15 nationally among tight ends
No. 7 in South Carolina

Howse is a four-star prospect in three of the four major recruiting services, including earning top 250 honors in two of them.

DB KJ Johnson
No. 442 overall
No. 39 nationally among cornerbacks
No. 15 in Alabama

South Carolina’s coaching staff believes Johnson could play corner, safety, or nickel at the next level. He is a consensus three-star prospect but is just one recruiting point away from four-star status according to three services.

EDGE/LB Keenan Britt
No. 479 overall
No. 50 nationally among EDGEs
No. 19 in Alabama

Like Andrew Harris, Britt will come join the Gamecocks as a linebacker, not as an EDGE. Two recruiting services consider him a four-star player in the 2026 cycle.

OL Anthony Baxter
No. 1387 overall
No. 132 nationally among interior offensive linemen
No. 18 in South Carolina

Baxter, a high school teammate of J’Zavien Currence, is a consensus three-star prospect and the longest-tenured pledge in the class.

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