Four-star lineman picks South Carolina football over Bama, Penn State
Jaquaze Sorrells spent a long time looking at Alabama and Penn State football.
On Wednesday, he became a South Carolina Gamecock.
The 6-foot-2, 292-pound four-star defensive tackle from Winter Park, Fla., committed to South Carolina football. His finalists included the Crimson Tide and Nittany Lions, and he’d had a good deal of interest from Oregon early on.
He’s rated as the No. 158 player in the 247 Sports composite rankings. He’s the No. 14 defensive tackle and 22nd-best player in Florida.
Sorrells originally committed to Florida in 2017 and de-committed on New Year’s Eve of 2017. The Gamecocks kept up their recruiting presence with him and impressed him with the defensive coaching history of head coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson.
“Having T-Rob and coach Muschamp, that’s pretty much it to be honest,” Sorrells said during the recruiting process. “It’s just real cool to have those two around. They are really trying to change the program. They say I’m athletic and I’m the top defensive lineman they would like.”
As a junior, he had 58 tackles, 17 1/2 for loss, six sacks and nine QB hurries in 10 games. He visited USC during the summer.
He transferred from Largo to Winter Park before his senior season and made 36 tackles, eight for loss, two sacks, picked off one pass and forced a fumble. He led his team to a 10-2 record, allowing 10.3 points per game.
He’s one of the few players set to sign in February, after the Gamecocks locked up most of their class in December. They signed 19, and had a pair of transfers who arrived in the summer, Josh Belk and Jamel Cook, counting against he class.
The Gamecocks have already signed five-star end Zacch Pickens and four-star lineman Joseph Anderson, and will return almost everyone on the defensive line next season.
“This was expected but doesn’t make it any less impactful for the #Gamecocks - Combing No. 3 DT Jaquaze Sorrells to Zacch Pickens in this class can give #SpursUp a very talented & disruptive pair on that defensive line #NSD19,” ESPN national recruiting coordinator Craig Haubert tweeted.
This story was originally published February 6, 2019 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Four-star lineman picks South Carolina football over Bama, Penn State."
