South Carolina moving quickly in search for QB recruits after decommitment
South Carolina didn’t wait long to start looking for another future quarterback.
Shortly after Class of 2026 quarterback Landon Duckworth decommitted from the Gamecocks on Tuesday night, three other signal callers in that class announced on social media that they had received offers from coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks.
The trio: rising juniors Noah Grubbs of Lake Mary (Fla.), Dereon Coleman of Jones High (Fla.) and Michael Clayton of Seminole High (Fla.).
News of Duckworth’s decommitment broke at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Grubbs announced an offer at 9:32 p.m.
Clayton was also offered Tuesday night, while Coleman announced his Wednesday morning.
South Carolina, like most schools, tries to take a quarterback in each recruiting cycle. In 2023, the Gamecocks landed LaNorris Sellers and he is projected to be the starter when training camp opens in August.
USC landed Dante Reno for Class of 2024 and he enrolled back in January USC also added transfers Robby Ashford (Auburn) and Davis Beville (Oklahoma, walk-on). The Gamecocks landed a 2025 quarterback commit this week when three-star Westside quarterback Cutter Woods flipped from Wake Forest to USC.
Of the latest 2026 offers from USC, Grubbs is the highest ranked in the bunch and committed to Notre Dame on June 1. Some of his other offers included Ohio State, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas A&M, Florida and Penn State. 247Sports ranks him as a four-star prospect and the 12th best quarterback in the Class of 2026.
Grubbs posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday that he is still “all in with ND,” but he’s an intriguing prospect in the 2026 class. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-4 Grubbs threw for 3,677 yards and 49 touchdowns. He also ran for 11 scores.
Coleman, 6-1, also is a four-star prospect and ranked as the 21st best quarterback in the class by the 247Sports Composite. He was offered by Miami last week and listed a top eight earlier this month of Central Florida, Oklahoma, Illinois, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Nebraska, TCU and Arkansas. Last season, he threw for 2,236 yards, ran for 247 with 20 total touchdowns.
Clayton, 6-3, has picked up several offers over the past month including Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Maryland, Central Florida and North Carolina State. He played at Edgewater High last season but is transferring to Seminole, another school in Florida.
Clayton threw for 1,902 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.
Duckworth, who’d committed to South Carolina 10 months ago, said in his post he had “nothing but love” for Beamer and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains and thanked the staff for “believing in me.”
“Tough decision,” he wrote.
