Two recruits on commitment watch after taking official visits to USC for Texas A&M game

Defensive tackle Kelten Mickell of Jones College in Mississippi made his first trip to South Carolina last weekend an official visit, and now he’s about ready to make a final college decision after being committed to Liberty since June 24.

That’s the message he left with USC head coach Shane Beamer and defensive line coach Travian Robertson.

“I told them to give me a week,” Mickell said. “I told them I was just going to lay my head down and just think about it before I make my decision.

“I’m still thinking about it but I ain’t going to lie, it felt like home for me. It will probably be next week some time. They are definitely my very number one. It’s really just them and Georgia, but I like South Carolina over Georgia, if I’m being honest. Georgia still hits me up every now and then, but it hasn’t been like it was at the beginning.”

Beamer and Robertson picked a good weekend to have Mickell (6-2, 295) in for a visit. The Gamecocks had their finest hour of the season with the upset of 10th-ranked Texas A&M in front of a raucous crowd that stormed the field after the win.

“I loved it. They make you feel at home. You can tell they are really building something great,” Mickell said. “The coaches talked to you before and after the game. Most coaches have a busy schedule, and they don’t really have time to do all that, but Coach Beamer took time out of his day to talk to us before the game, and it made me feel special.”

Mickell had to be impressed with the play of the Gamecock defense. The defensive front won the battle against the bigger Aggies offensive line. Mickell said Robertson wants him to come in and keep that level of playing going with the defensive line.

“Coach Robertson he laid it out for me,” Mickell said. “He was basically saying he’s losing four guys and he needs somebody to come in and be that guy. But you know you’ve got to work for your spot. They run an attack-style defense and that’s a great way to get recruited (by the NFL), coming from the SEC and being able to get sacks and being able to get your pass rush and make big plays when they need to be made.”

Mickell has also taken official visits to Liberty, UTSA and Utah State. He does not plan to take any more visits.

In eight games this season, Mickell has 32 tackles with four tackles for loss and one sack.

Josh Smith recruiting update

Dutch Fork linebacker/edge rusher Josh Smith made his official visit to South Carolina over the weekend and is now ready to close the book on his recruiting.

“Yeah, I know where I’ll be going,” Smith said.

Smith made his decision from a final three of USC, N.C. State and Ole Miss. He plans to post his decision Tuesday after practice, which is being held in the morning because school is out for Election Day.

USC linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Clayton White has come on strong with Smith ever since offering him a few weeks ago. Smith had been to three other games at USC this sesason but the Texas A&M game Saturday night left a major impression.

“First off, the game was incredible and the environment was out of this world,’ Smith said. “The fans love this program so, so much. I got to spend a lot of time with Coach White. I got to know him a lot more and what he thinks of me as a player and how I could fit in to this defense and that scheme. I got to hang out with some of the players. Overall, it was a pretty great weekend.”

Smith watched the Gamecock linebackers do their thing against the Aggies and was impressed by that as well.

“It was amazing. Lot of the linebackers made key plays and key moments during the game,” he said. “That was awesome to see.”

Smith also has taken notice of the fact Shane Beamer makes an extra effort to bring the best in-state players he can get into his program. Nine of the 20 commitments for the 2025 class are from South Carolina.

“He’s trying to build the program on guys that or local, guys from the state,” Smith said. “Trying to get guys from those winning programs from within the state onto the team who have that mentality of winning.”

Smith has emerged as one of the top prospects in South Carolina and was chosen for the Shrine Bowl team. He committed last summer to Coastal Carolina but decommitted as Power Four programs began to recruit him.