DJ Huggins wasted no time making his mark to open the high school football season.
The South Carolina receiver commit from Harrison High in Georgia found the end zone the first three times he touched the ball and finished with five catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Allatoona.
He was one of several Gamecock commits to turn in notable performances as most of South Carolina’s pledges opened their regular seasons over the weekend. A few others are still waiting to get started, with season openers coming later this week or in early September.
In South Carolina’s class of 2027, Huggins wasn’t the only standout. Josh Archer, a defensive lineman from Seventy-First in North Carolina, recorded four tackles, including two for loss, and added an interception in a win over Terry Sanford.
At Hough, defensive back Josh Dobson picked off a pass in a victory over Northwestern in a showdown between two of the Carolinas’ top teams. Hough now gets Cardinal Gibbons at Panthers Stadium on Aug.
Another Hough defender, Davion Jones, also made his presence felt by helping hold Northwestern’s Malik Ratliff to one catch for five yards. Elsewhere, Jackson Ross delivered across the board for Hammond in South Carolina, finishing with seven tackles, assisting on a sack and pressuring the quarterback in a win over Brookland-Cayce.
Not every commit had a full stat line, but several still logged meaningful snaps. Nate Carson started at tackle and saw time on defense for Irmo in a loss to Rock Hill.
Judah Lancaster, the tight end from Brentwood in Tennessee, chipped in with a 17-yard catch and a tackle on defense in limited action during a loss to Baylor School. James Ross’ Ridge View game against South Pointe was canceled, and Ridge View is set to host Dutch Fork on Friday.
A couple of other 2027 names already have big numbers on the board. Brayden Tyson ran for 93 yards and three touchdowns in Brookwood’s Aug. 13 win over Cambridge, and the Broncos had last week off before returning to play Mill Creek on Aug. 28.
For the commits whose seasons haven’t kicked off yet, the wait continues. Iveon Lewis at Huguenot in Virginia opens Sept. 4, while Jerry Meyer III at Waxahachie in Texas and Javien Robinson at McKeesport in Pennsylvania both start Aug. 28.
South Carolina’s class of 2028 also has a few players getting ready to begin. Jhmari Cain of Huguenot has a Sept. 4 opener, while Joseph Gibbs at Southeast Alamance in North Carolina already made an early splash. Gibbs caught five passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns and added 10 rushing yards in a win over Orange.
In Other News...
Gamecocks Near Big O-Line Decision With Early Stability At Stake
After a couple of preseason scrimmages, Shane Beamer said South Carolina is getting close to settling on its starting five along the offensive line, a development that matters a lot for a unit trying to build chemistry fast. The group looks different almost everywhere you turn, with 15 of the 21 linemen new to the program, and the staff has also brought in Randy Clements as the new position coach while Kendal Briles handles the offense.
Beamers latest update suggests the Gamecocks are aiming for early stability up front, even if the lineup may still be in flux deeper into camp. He also said the plan is to use more than five linemen during games, a sign South Carolina wants to keep bodies fresh and manage the grind of the season without asking the same five players to carry every snap. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Linebackers Have A Rising Voice Fans Should Notice
When South Carolina turned over its defensive staff in recent years, Trey Money kept climbing with it. The North Carolina native started out as a student assistant at Appalachian State, then worked as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech and Louisville before heading back to App State in a quality control role and eventually landing in Columbia in 2022 as a defensive graduate assistant.
Since arriving with the Gamecocks, Money has been promoted three times, a pretty clear sign the staff has trusted him more and more as hes moved up. He is now coaching the linebackers, and his rise inside the program has become one of those under-the-radar developments that often matters more than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]
Shane Beamer Fires Back As LaNorris Sellers Draws Ridiculous Heat
Shane Beamer spent part of the week pushing back on a different kind of noise around LaNorris Sellers, one that had little to do with what happens on the field. The South Carolina coach defended his quarterback after social media criticism surfaced over Sellers spending his final-semester internship at a local golf center, stressing that the work is tied to his major and fits the academic path he has taken at the school.
Beamer also pointed to the bigger picture around Sellers, who has made the Deans List four times and is on track to graduate in December. For a program that has watched him grow into one of its most important figures, the message was less about the internship itself and more about reminding people that football players are students first, and that Sellers has earned support for handling both sides of college life the right way. [Read more 🡒]