4-star JUCO cornerback DJ Daniel pulled the trigger and is now committed to the Gamecocks.

Daniel is the 17thcommit in the 2019 recruiting cycle and is the first defensive back to be added to South Carolina’s class.

From what I’ve seen of the Georgia Military College product, he is a long, bump and run corner who excels at making plays on the ball. Along with his coverage skills, DJ does a really good job of coming up and filling holes on run plays along with laying the wood occasionally.

This commitment came mostly as a surprise to Gamecock fans, considering Daniel grew up a Georgia Bulldogs fan and was one of the players that Kirby Smart and his staff wanted a lot. Obviously, this is a huge win on the side of Will Muschamp in terms of recruiting battles.

Now, before Carolina fans start going too crazy, Georgia still has the top recruiting class in the nation. This is a step in the right direction for South Carolina in terms of winning battles for bigger recruits, but it’s a baby step.

Another big win that could go a long way for Coach Boom would be landing Cameron Smith tomorrow, August the 17th. Cam Smith is a 4-star recruit and the number one defensive back in South Carolina and has a top 3 of the Gamecocks, Georgia and Tennessee. He’s heavily favored towards USC, but as seen with DJ Daniel, favoritism towards one school doesn’t go a long way.

If Cam Smith commits tomorrow, that would probably boost the 2019 class from the 15-17ish spot they’re at right now on most recruiting sites to 13-14. Defensive back is the glaring concern right now, with only one current commit.

One thing that would be disheartening for current targets is the addition of Jamel Cook. Cook was a transfer relatively no one knew of before the roster for South Carolina came out. He is formerly a top 50 prospect and he comes in at 6-4 and 190. If you didn’t know, there’s another defensive back named Israel Mukuamu on the South Carolina roster that is also 6-4. That’s two defensive backs who are 6-4. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen two defensive backs that size on the same team ever, much less likely on the same college football team.

However, there are still multiple defensive back prospects that South Carolina is either leading or in the hunt for. 4-star safety Jaylen McCollough is considering by most to be a USC lean along with 4-star cornerback Jaydon Hill and 3-star cornerback Jammie Robinson. Robinson and McCollough are the most likely commits with Hill only being there if Cam Smith doesn’t commit.