It has been a rough couple of weeks for Steve Spurrier in the state of Georgia.
Last weekend, South Carolina suffered a heartbreaking loss at UGA. This was thought to be Spurrier’s best chance to win a national championship with the Gamecocks until the loss.
On Sunday, South Carolina took another body blow when two of the team’s top recruits from Georgia both de-committed from the Gamecocks.
Cornerback Wesley Green and defensive end Arden Key, teammates at M.L. King High School, both backed off their pledges from South Carolina. Green is a senior, while Key is a junior.
“After they talked it over with their families, they just thought it would be best decision for right now,” M.L. King coach Cortez Allen told the AJC on Sunday night. “It’s just to make sure that they are doing the right thing and have the best situation moving forward. They both enjoyed their visits up there, and they like what South Carolina has going on. But they hadn’t really heard from South Carolina a whole lot, and that kind of worried them.
“I think they both still really like South Carolina. But again, just from their standpoint, you know how kids are. They were asking me about why weren’t hearing much from South Carolina. I told them that ‘I can understand. That’s kind of weird. But just call them. Call South Carolina and see what’s going on.’ That would be my only answer to the kids. I don’t get into recruiting a lot with our kids. I just guide them when they have questions.”
What are some reasons that South Carolina might not be maintaining contact on a regular basis? Allen said he hadn't heard from South Carolina's coaches since his two players committed over the summer.
“I’m really not sure why,” Allen said. “Like I tried to explain to my kids, once you’re committed, those guys feel like the relationship is there. But at the same time, you’ve got to let kids know that you’re there. That’s what they are used to. And if they’re not getting the attention, they feel like something is wrong. Our kids just hadn’t had a lot of contact with South Carolina. That kind of made Wesley a little nervous, and Arden is always watching. Those guys are pretty close, and that kind of made Arden think about things as well.
“These kids that are high profile ... they’re used to getting a lot of attention. Then they commit and they don’t hear from a college. Then they talk to other kids being recruited by other schools, and hear about how those kids are talking to coaches once per week. Or how they are constantly in contact with each other on Facebook or Twitter all the time. And our kids are like, ‘Well, I haven’t heard from my coach.’ I guess it bothered our kids’ egos a little bit.”
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Green is a 4-star prospect who committed to South Carolina over Clemson last June. He claimed an early offer from UGA, but not Georgia Tech.
Green told the AJC on Sunday night that he was now considering UGA, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn and South Carolina.
UGA is hoping to sign at least one more defensive back in this year’s recruiting class.
Key is a 6-5, 200-pounder who is rated as a 4-star for 2015.
South Carolina still has two 2014 commits from Georgia, Cedar Grove High School linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams and Woodward Academy tight end Terry Googer. The Gamecocks also have commitments from two of the state’s juniors, Stephenson High School teammates Chauncey Rivers and Dexter Neal.
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