Spoiler: it’s pretty high.
Jamyest Williams’ commitment to South Carolina was a big deal as the Gamecocks landed a big-time corner that could start immediately. But where does Williams rank among recent Gamecocks recruits? As it turns out, pretty high.
ESPN has been releasing national recruiting rankings since 2006, first by rating the top 150 players and later increasing it to the 300 they rate today. Williams is 37th on the ESPN300 rankings for the class of 2017. That puts him in some rare company: only five former Gamecocks have ranked higher than 37th. Brian Maddox (2007, 14th) was one. Stephon Gilmore and Devonte Holloman (2009, 18th and 19th, respectively) were the second and third. Marcus Lattimore (2010, also 19th) was the fourth. You can probably guess who the fifth one was.
Over at 247Sports, I checked who they ranked as the Gamecocks’ top all-time recruits were. Clowney is obviously atop that list as well, but Williams is the highest-ranked by composite rating since Mike Davis in 2012. As far as national ranking, Williams’ ranking of #55 is highest among high schoolers since Davis was ranked #48. Obviously, the landscape has changed dramatically, but from a national standpoint, it shows you how well Williams is regarded.
At Scout, Williams is ranked at #52 in their annual rankings. That’s the highest since Shaq Roland was ranked #40 in 2012. Again, you can guess who the highest-ranked player on that all-time list is. (Outside of Clowney, Brandon Shell was ranked #35 in the 2011 class, while Lattimore was #9 in 2010. Stephon Gilmore was #44 in 2009, just a few spots beyond where Williams was slotted.)
Will Muschamp has gathered a great deal of momentum in the recruiting ranks over the past month. Can he keep this run going? We’ll see. But Williams’ pledge has generated a great deal of excitement among the fanbase.