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This will be the first full recruiting cycle for Will Muschamp and his South Carolina staff, which he explicitly built with recruiting as a top priority.
The Gamecocks may catch a break with a boon in the in-state talent for the class of 2018. But Muschamp can’t wait that long for his team to show signs of life, especially on offense. And big, bad Clemson has become a formidable recruiting foe within the borders.
With that, here are five class of 2017 prospects that Gamecocks fans should know as the team looks to build momentum behind the new regime.
1. Jake Bentley, QB, Opelika (Ala.)
Speaking of building a staff with a keen eye toward recruiting, Muschamp’s hire of running backs coach Bobby Bentley is a good place to start. The coach holds deep ties to the state both as a native and as someone entrenched at or near the top of the prep circuit for nearly two decades. Oh, and his son happens to be a 6-foot-4 quarterback prospect, one of the best in the country. Other schools are pursuing him, including Stanford, Auburn, Georgia and LSU. But pencil in South Carolina as the early favorite.
2. Shi Smith, WR, Union (S.C.) Union County
Even if Muschamp allows Kurt Roper more freedom to deploy the spread offense that worked well at Duke, without Pharoh Cooper and Jerell Adams, South Carolina is going to be hurting for dynamic pass-catchers in 2016. At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Smith is fast enough to offer a spark. Clemson has recruited the four-star receiver hard since seventh grade, but his high school coach last season was Gamecocks legend Steve Taneyhill. Smith was in Columbia recently to meet with Muschamp, who would do well to woo Smith.
3. OrTre Smith, WR, Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Wando
Like Shi Smith, OrTre Smith is listed as an athlete by the recruiting services and is expected to choose between Clemson and South Carolina. Unlike Smith, he’s 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and not as fast. A reliable deep threat, he displays excellent hands and tracks the ball well in the air. The receiver has family connections to Clemson, but will the red-hot Tigers have room for him given the talent they are expected to get at the position? South Carolina has made him a priority and would gladly take him.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
