Four-star safety Davion Jones made his choice early in July, and South Carolina came out on top in a recruitment that featured several heavyweight programs.
Jones, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound defensive back, announced Thursday that he is headed to Columbia. The Gamecocks beat out LSU, Georgia, Auburn and Indiana for the 2027 prospect.
Rivals’ industry rankings place Jones as the No. 9 safety, the No. 6 player in North Carolina and the No. 139 overall prospect in the class of 2027.
What Jones has put on film helps explain the attention. Over his last two seasons at Hough High School, he piled up 118 tackles, three tackles for loss, 19 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and 11 interceptions. He also runs the 100-meter dash for Hough’s track and field team.
In a scouting report from August of 2025, 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins described Jones as a "playmaking safety that could play over the top or underneath" and "quick to get on his horse and to the football, whether that be in zone coverage or run support"
Jones gives South Carolina another major piece in a 2027 class that has grown quickly since the back half of June. He is one of 15 commitments for the Gamecocks and ranks as the second-highest rated prospect in the group.
The top spot in that class belongs to five-star cornerback Joshua Dobson, Jones’ teammate at Hough. Rivals has Dobson ranked as the No. 3 cornerback in the 2027 cycle.
South Carolina also has another blue-chip defensive back in the fold with four-star cornerback Kelvin Millington. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound prospect is ranked by Rivals as the No. 40 cornerback in the class.
Among the other schools Jones considered, LSU is the only one that already has a blue-chip safety committed. The Tigers landed Greedy James after flipping him from Texas, ending a seven-month commitment to the Longhorns. James is ranked as the No. 28 safety in the class.
Indiana and Auburn each have two safety commitments, though neither school has landed a blue-chip safety yet. Hoosier pledges Brady Scott and Garyon Hobbs are both top-60 safety prospects, while Auburn’s Knyair Crumb is ranked No. 51 at the position and Nasir Banks sits just outside the top 100.
Georgia, meanwhile, still has not added a safety or even a defensive back to its 2027 class. The Bulldogs are still involved with in-state target Adryan Cole, the No. 4 safety in the Rivals 300 rankings.
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