They say Virginia is for lovers. But in the case of South Carolina offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley, he’s loving a major target from Virginia. Teasley offered 2027 OT Junior Saunders (6-5, 280) of Woodberry Forest, Va., after seeing him up close in camp last June. Since then, they’ve become strong phone pals.
“I hear from Coach Teasley a lot,” Saunders said. “They are top up there with my communication. They communicate with me very well. He tries to critique my day. He does the little things to see how my day is going, and that’s very special to me. They send me quotes every day, and some of the graphics are very nice as well. Last time I hopped on the phone with him, and he just told me to go out there and catch a win.”
The question for Teasley is, can he eventually catch Saunders? Right now, he’s got the Gamecocks in solid shape with Saunders’ recruitment.
“I love everything about the team and the program,” Saunders said. “I’m blessed that they have given me the opportunity to further the relationship with them. I went there for a camp and then I visited. I loved the campus. He loves my footwork, fast hands. He loves how lengthy I am. He loves how I play the game, period.”
While the Gamecocks made their move with Saunders in the summer, Clemson is moving more slowly with him. He visited the Tigers last spring to watch a practice. Since then, he’s been hearing from offensive line coach Matt Luke and others who work with him.
“They talk to me a lot,” he said. “They send me a lot of graphics. They really hit up my phone every day as well. I talk to Coach Luke, Coach (Carson) Cramer and Brandon Thomas, an assistant line coach. It’s a great school. That’s one of the schools that I’m looking to build a relationship with.”
Saunders plays a lot of his games at Woodberry Forest on Saturday, so his opportunity for game-day college visits is limited. He’s only been to Virginia so far this season. He wants to develop more relationships with schools contacting him and then drop a short list. Besides USC, some of his other offers are Ohio State, West Virginia, Virginia, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Pitt, Florida State, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Syracuse, Maryland, Penn State, East Carolina and Southern Miss.
Along with USC, Saunders mentioned Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Oklahoma, Ohio State, West Virginia and N.C. State as some of the other schools he thinks highly of at this point in his recruitment.
• South Carolina offered 2027 OT Jordan Agbanoma (6-4, 300) of Loganville, Ga., last May, and he followed that up with a camp visit in June that increased the interest on both sides. Gamecocks offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley and the Director of Recruiting for the offense, Sam Serbay, have remained on top of Agbanoma ever since and are working to have him in for a visit this season.
“I went to a camp during the summer and met most of the coaching staff. I walked around the facilities. I really like the coaches over there,” Agbanoma said. “Coach Serbay is a really great guy. He’s a great recruiter. I met with Coach Teasley, and he’s a really great guy, too. I really liked their atmosphere. The atmosphere they bring with the coaching, how they coach the kids. And the fans love the Gamecocks. The fans love it over there.”
Teasley, during the camp workout, saw a big man who could help protect the edge on the Gamecocks offensive line.
“They like my aggressiveness and how fast I am off the ball,” Agbanoma said.
This season, Agbanoma has been to games at Georgia and Alabama, and he is scheduled to visit Nebraska this weekend for the Michigan State game. He said he does not have any other visits set for now, but would definitely like to take another one to Columbia for his first game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Agbanoma called his interest level in the Gamecocks “pretty high,” and he includes them among his current favorites along with Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and Nebraska. From that group, he has visited Georgia and Alabama the most.
• South Carolina offered 2028 LB Skylar Alston (6-2, 215) of Raleigh. He was in for a visit Saturday night.
• 2027 LB Ja’bios Smith (6-3, 220) of Swainsboro, Ga., has South Carolina among his top 10. The others on the list are Georgia Tech, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia.
Clemson
Though the outcome with Syracuse wasn’t what Clemson wanted, it was still an impressive day on the recruiting front. One of the top visitors that day was 2027 OL Peyton Miller (6-5, 270) of Anna (Texas), who is considered one of the prime talents in Texas. Miller has been high on the Tigers since the summer, but an opportunity for momentum arrived with a game-day visit. Heading into the matchup, Miller was impressed with the environment of Clemson, noticing the tailgating for miles, along with the stadium bringing energy in the first half.
What happens when all of that energy is suddenly halted? The lightning delay, paired with a loss that has left a collective sour taste in the fan base, isn’t an ideal ingredient for a successful visit. However, Miller viewed things differently. He saw a locker room of players who truly care about their teammates, and the mindset was a big standout to the four-star prospect.
“They may have lost, but as a recruit, to see that those players truly care about it, they have a different mindset than a lot of people, and you can tell they want to win and succeed with one another,” Miller clarified. “So in my eyes, I was grateful to see how those players reacted to a loss and how they went about themselves afterwards.”
The emotion from Clemson, and Dabo Swinney in particular, has been a viral moment from Saturday, and that was something Miller was grateful to see.
“Those players care more than you would know, and that is something that draws my attention because it’s the same way with my team,” Miller said. “Even though they lost, it was still an amazing experience to see how the team and Coach Swinney truly care about their program.”
After the game, Miller and offensive line coach Matt Luke had the opportunity to spend some time together, and the personal touch of Luke’s recruiting that has made him stand out shone through during Miller’s visit. Luke has also done a good job of incorporating Miller’s family into the recruiting process, which has created a stronger relationship between the Tigers and one of their top 2027 targets.
“Coach Luke, his wife, Coach Cramer, and I went to eat together, and it was great, as they are some of the most down-to-earth people you will meet,” the Texas prospect explained. “Those relationships have continued to grow since that open contact period, and they make a great effort to recruit me. The relationship they have with my parents is great as well, so I’d say that the relationship is growing in a great direction.”
Miller plans to visit Texas A&M, SMU, Arizona State, Penn State and Texas to close the season, but it is safe to say the Tigers accomplished their mission with the Anna prospect this weekend. He confirmed his intention to return to campus for the spring and summer and left campus with a good feeling.
“The Tigers hold a high spot on my list,” he gushed. “I can’t wait to get back this spring and this summer some more because it’s always a great time to be in Clemson.”
• Defensive end Dre Quinn of Buford, Ga., decommitted from Clemson last week.
He committed to the Tigers in June after taking official visits to Clemson, Georgia Tech, Georgia and Texas. His defection leaves the Tigers with 21 commitments for the 2026 class.
Quinn visited Tennessee for the game with Georgia, which was prior to his public decommitment. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney enforces a policy where his commitments can’t visit other programs. Not long after going public with his news, Quinn was projected to Texas by Steve Wiltfong of On3 Sports.
Notes
2027 DE Jaiden Bryant of Irmo Wednesday night was offered by Auburn. The Tigers join USC, Michigan, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Florida State, Missouri, Florida, LSU, Miami, Georgia Tech and Michigan State as some of his offers. Bryant has been to Clemson, USC and Miami for games thus far this season.
Vanderbilt offered 2027 WR Jaiden Kelly-Murray of Summerville and 2028 WR Jordan Gorham of Timberland.
Georgia was expected to host several prospects for the Alabama game with recruiting ties to USC and/or Clemson. Those included 2027 Irmo OT Nate Carson, 2027 LB Jalaythan Mayfield of Lincolnton, N.C., 2027 DE Santana Harvey of Lakeland, Fla., 2027 DT Karlos May of Birmingham and 2027 CB Jayden Aparicio-Bailey of Birmingham.
May was offered last week by Alabama.
Three more Power Four programs have offered 2027 DE Jaden Wuerth (6-3, 270) of Dutch Fork in the last two weeks. Penn State, Miami and Vanderbilt have moved in on Wuerth, who also has offers from South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Appalachian State, Liberty, Jacksonville State and Georgia State.
The Gamecocks offered Wuerth last summer after seeing him perform in camp. He plans to visit South Carolina for the Alabama game.
Clemson has not offered to this point, but Dabo Swinney, defensive coordinator Tom Allen and defensive line coach Nick Eason are definitely interested, and they had him in for their game with LSU.
“I enjoyed being there and seeing all the coaches,” Wuerth said. “That stadium, it was a good time. I love watching them play, and how it is on game day, like the Tiger Walk and everything. I talked to Coach Eason and Coach Allen. And I talked to Coach Swinney a little bit as well. They want to see how the season progresses. They like where I’m at right now.”
Based and what he heard from the coaches on that visit and through other communications, Wuerth is optimistic the Tigers will step up with an offer.
“I feel like they are very interested,” Wuerth said. “I’m getting texts from them mostly every day. They are calling and stuff, and sending mail. It’s just good to keep building this relationship with Coach Eason and the rest of the staff.”
Wuerth said he plans to return to Clemson for another game this season. He did see the Tigers when he was a guest of Georgia Tech for their upset of Clemson. The Yellow Jackets have also made a move with him. He also plans to take in games at Duke, Appalachian State, Liberty and possibly Coastal Carolina. In his first three games this season, Wuerth totaled 16 tackles with four tackles for loss and three sacks.
Basketball
• Clemson offered 2027 6-5 Thomas Vickery of Christ School in Arden, N.C. He’s a native of Palo Alto, Calif. Vickery also has offers from Wake Forest, Tennessee, Mississippi State, East Carolina, Ohio and Coastal Carolina. He visited for the Syracuse football game.
• Clemson also offered 2027 6-5 Marcus Curry Jr. of Loganville, Ga. He also has offers from USF, Tennessee, Ohio, Florida State, Xavier, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and Eastern Kentucky. He was in for the Syracuse weekend.
• 2027 6-7 Kolton Taylor of Blue Ridge, Ga., visited Clemson for the Syracuse game. Clemson made a school visit to see him earlier this month. He has an offer from UT Chattanooga at this point.
• 2026 6-4 Kelsi Andrews of IMG Academy made an an official visit to South Carolina over the weekend. She has also taken official visits to Auburn, Mississippi State, LSU and Virginia. 5-9 Somto Okafor of Spain also made an official visit to South Carolina over the weekend. She also recently visited UCLA.