The 6-foot-4, 285-pounder chose the the Gamecocks over offers from Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and others.

"We went to all these places and saw a whole lot of things," Huntley explained to GamecockCentral.com. "There just wasn't anything pointing against South Carolina."

Checking in at number 178 on the latest 2019 Rivals250 rankings, Huntley actually moved to the Palmetto State from Maryland in 2014. As such, he did not have much familiarity with the USC program. Upon Will Muschamp taking the South Carolina job in late 2015, that quickly changed.

Said Huntley: "Coming from Maryland, I wasn't from here. I didn't know the Gamecocks or watch much college football. Coming from up north, going to South Carolina, it wasn't a big thing to do.When I got here, I never thought I would end up going to South Carolina. Once I started visiting and building relationships with the coaches, it was just like everything was telling me to go there. Everything was pointing in that direction."

Making the difference for South Carolina was the approach of Muschamp and his staff and the bonds built between them and Huntley's family.

"My relationships with the coaches, I know all the coaching staff," he said. "It's a home feeling, not just because it's 30 minutes away. When I get there, the people, it just feels like home. I think it's the best decision."

How did South Carolina land Huntley? How will he impact the program? Find out in our inside the commitment feature!



Huntley initially planned on making a decision later in the process, but bumped up his projected timeline a couple times.

He settled on making his choice at this time because he did not see a need to delay things any longer.

"When you know you're going to do something, waiting in my opinion, there's just no reason," he said. " I've had this feeling for a little bit, I was going to end up going to South Carolina. If I was going to go to South Carolina, I might as well do it."

The four-star prospect is Hammond's student body president and will finish out the entire school year before enrolling at USC next summer.

Now that he's firmly in the boat for USC, Huntley said he'll turn his attention to helping recruit one of his teammates, major priority target Jordan Burch.



"I know right now, after today, I'm getting Jordan to South Caroilia. That's going to be my goal.



Huntley's goal once he enrolls in Columbia is simple: put in great effort, and let everything else fall into place.



"Honestly, I just don't want to be outworked, whether it's someone on another team or someone on my own team," he said. "That's what's gotten me to where I am now, just you can't be outworked by anybody. If I keep that same mindset, I should just keep rolling."

ALSO SEE: Hammond head coach Erik Kimrey discusses what make Alex Huntley special