South Carolina lands fast-rising North Carolina DB
South Carolina has landed one of the fastest-rising defensive backs in the Carolinas.
Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley class of 2026 three-star cornerback Kosci Barnes committed to the Gamecocks Saturday, choosing them over Miami, Kentucky, Rutgers, North Carolina, and Mississippi State.
“I just love how they’re a family,” Barnes told GamecockCentral following his official visit to South Carolina. “Everything is family-oriented. Everything that they do is families together. They’re really genuine, there’s no fake love. Everything they said and meant showed me a great time,” he said. “Everywhere I look, it’s food, it’s people laughing. That’s just a great place to be, it’s a great environment. The city’s active, I see families walking around places and all that. It’s just a great place to be, so I really like it.”
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All six of those schools, plus several other Power 4s, offered Barnes within the last three months of the process.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder took official visits to South Carolina, Miami, Rutgers, and Kentucky before making his decision.
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Veteran South Carolina defensive backs coach Torrian Gray served as his recruiter of record.
“Positionally, we were talking about me playing corner primarily, a little bit of flex of nickel. Just to be able to help my draft stock, being able to be versatile as a player, which I am, so it really helps me to the draft people or to whoever just makes me bigger as a player. Coach T Gray’s a great coach. I mean, he’s produced a lot of people in the NFL, so if anybody knows in the SEC how to produce players, it’s definitely him.”
Barnes is the 14th commitment to the Gamecocks class and fourth in the last couple of weeks.
The Rivals Industry Ranking, an average of the three major recruiting media sites, considers Barnes the No. 56 cornerback and No. 584 overall prospect in the class.
Rivals is highest, among the three, on Barnes ranking him the No. 49 cornerback in the cycle.
Barnes is the fourth defensive back in the class, joining Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe four-star S J’Zavien Currence, Birmingham (Ala.) Woodlawn three-star CB K.J. Johnson, and Greenwood (S.C.) three-star ATH Triston Lewis.
