| USA TODAY Sports Network Special – South Carolina
Oscar Delp, a 2022 tight end class from Cumming, Georgia, is classified as a potential four star customer at 247Sports Composite and is ranked the 10th tight end in the class.
Delp (6ft-5, 220lbs), who has had 740 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns this season, has several important offers at this time, including USC, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Southern Cal, North Carolina, Stanford, Florida State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Minnesota and West Virginia.
He said that Clemson is starting to step on the scene with intensified contact, and he also has connections with the new Gamecocks coach, Shane Beamer.
“It really started to catch on,” he said of his contact with Clemson. “I’ve been talking a lot on the phone with coach (Brandon) Streeter and coach (Danny) Pearman lately.
“My uncle (James Chappell) played at Clemson and called me. I think they talked. He was asking them if there is a chance they will catch me and I am practically the next guy on the board right now. My family has a strong history there. We have family in Columbia. It is a great school and is competing for a national championship. This is one of the schools I was in before COVID. I camped there, so I kind of felt the campus and really enjoyed it. It will definitely be a school that will be up there. ”
Recent commitments:
The same is true of South Carolina, thanks to Beamer. Delp said that former Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp has shown no interest in him. That has changed now that Beamer is in Columbia.
“Coach Beamer was recruiting me to play the tight end in Oklahoma,” said Delp. “He got the new job and knew that I have a history with South Carolina. I grew up a South Carolina fan my entire life. My walls are covered with Connor Shaw and Marcus Lattimore to this day. We have family in Columbia. My grandparents live there and my mom went to South Carolina, so I kind of grew up watching these games.
Delp said Beamer “got in touch with me personally, saying that I will be one of the guys they are going to recruit hard. I’m just waiting for them to fill out their new coaching staff and we’ll see what happens from there.”
Delp admits that the early disinterest of his childhood favorite took him and his family by surprise.
“Now I’m a highly recruited kid, I’d like to think, and they’re one of those schools that didn’t really come to me, which put a strange taste in our mouths,” said Delp. “My mom is a fervent South Carolina fan, but I didn’t hear from them, so that was kind of surprising. Now that the coach has changed, I think they’ll be back and I think I’m one of the guys they’ll want. ”
USC chases former Tide player
In the 2016 recruiting class, Nigel Knott, from Madison, Mississippi, was one of the biggest cornerback candidates in the country.
Knott (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) was rated as a four-star potential customer at 247Sports Composite and ranked No. 8 in the country. As such, Knott was warmly recruited and ended up signing with Alabama. He resigned in 2016 and played 12 games over the next two seasons, until an enlarged heart forced Alabama to put him on a medical scholarship.
Knott underwent nearly seven months of testing and was finally released by doctors to return to football. He signed up in East Carolina as a graduate transfer for this season, but hired COVID-19 and was not part of the team. He’s now back on the transfer portal, and South Carolina is one of the programs he’s talking about.
“They are a possibility,” said Knott. “I feel like most of the Power Five teams are waiting until after their bowling game, and they are dealing with coach changes and players who make statements in advance. Nor do they know who will enter the portal. But they really told me that they are very interested, but they also want to see how the cards fall.
“I was told to follow coach (Shane) Beamer, but the person I was talking to was coach Drew Hughes. They told me that they already know that I can play and that they are fighting for me.”
Knott said he has visited the USC for a game in the past and also stopped by to look around the campus recently, on his way back home to Mississippi.
“I really like it. It’s not far from Greenville,” said Knott. “I went there to play and go for a walk there. I really liked the environment. There didn’t seem to be much going on in the city that could get you out of our way. great opportunity, honestly. ”
Knott said that, along with USC, NC State and Cal, they were showing strong interest, and he also heard of Florida.
Louisiana Linebacker Awaits USC Offer
New Orleans’ three-star linebacker Kolbe Fields (6-1 205) remains committed to Memphis, although he chose not to sign this month. A unique commitment from the State of Oklahoma, Fields decided to postpone the subscription until February to see what other options might come his way.
The only school that recently entered was USC. Gamecocks have not yet been offered, but that could change soon.
“I talked to coach Drew Hughes and coach Mike Peterson,” said Fields. “I must talk to them on the phone (Wednesday) to really see what is going on. He (Hughes) was telling me the facts about the school and that they have 12 places to offer and how they have space for linebackers.
“I’m just waiting for them to watch my tape and I hope they make that move.”
Fields said he did not speak to new coach Shane Beamer, but hopes to speak soon. He wants to learn more about the program beyond what he was able to put together on his own.
“I don’t know much about them, but I have been accessing their Twitter page and looking at the environment,” Fields said. “It looks like a really fun environment. The fans love it there. This is what I understand with the videos I have seen so far.
USC and Memphis are the only schools that Fields is communicating with at this time, he said. He would love to leave his Wednesday conversation with an offer, but he is keeping his expectations in check.
“I don’t want to say too much,” he said. “That would open up and I would have another option.”
Fields had an excellent senior season with 105 tackles, 13 loss tackles and three sacks. He was named the defensive MVP for his district and hopes to be named All-State.
Georgia LB monitoring Beamer’s signings
Linebacker Trevin Wallace, from Jesup, Georgia, is very fond of the USC, but hesitates to move on until he knows who will train the linebackers, as Rod Wilson is not being hired.
“I am sitting, with all these coaches being fired, to see who they are going to get there,” said Wallace. “I have to see how it goes. Everything has to be resolved and see where everyone will be. You don’t know who he’s going to keep. “
More: South Carolina announces new assistant football coaches as Shane Beamer’s team takes shape
Wallace said he hears regularly from Beamer. He is also getting a lot of interest now from Auburn, LSU, Kentucky, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Florida. He has already been committed to Boston College.
Wallace said his plan is to keep everyone in suspense about his decision.
“I’m going to make the hats,” said Wallace. “Five hats on the table so people can be curious. It will be like mid-January. Everyone is going crazy, like, ‘Where are you going, Trevin?’ I won’t tell anyone, and now everyone wants to know. ”
Wallace is a four star at 247Sports Composite. He is classified as the number 13 domestic potential linebacker nationally in the class.