Why South Carolina is the Most Dangerous Team in the Landon Duckworth Recruitment

Why the South Carolina Gamecocks are the most dangerous team in the Landon Duckworth recruitment.

On Wednesday, 2026 quarterback Landon Duckworth announced he was down to two schools in his recruitment, those two teams being South Carolina and Auburn. Ole Miss was at one point viewed as the leader, but with them no longer in the mix, it increases the Gamecocks' chances of landing the high-profile signal caller.

The Tigers certainly know a thing or two when it comes to landing top players in the country, especially when they are from the state of Alabama, like Duckworth is. Hugh Freeze and their staff have made it a priority to keep those types of players in-state. However, the Gamecocks are actually the most dangerous team in this recruitment.

Since Shane Beamer took over as head coach, there has typically been at least one player in every class who is deemed a "got to have" prospect for the Gamecocks, and they go all in on that player. Nyck Harbor is an example of this, Dylan Stewart is the example from 2024 and now Duckworth is who they have their sights set on in this year's cycle.

These aren't top prospects that are from the state of South Carolina either. Both Harbor and Stewart came from Washington, DC.

The Gamecocks have been attempting to add a quarterback to their class for the last few months. Jared Curtis was once an option, Brady Smigiel had the Gamecocks in the mix, and Duckworth is now the name they are ultimately looking to land.

That means there is a bit of desperation here for the Gamecocks, and that's not a bad thing. LaNorris Sellers is likely to be playing his final year of college football this season, which means the program will need a new QB in 2026. They have Air Noland and Cutter Woods on the roster as potential future options, but adding Duckworth into that room would have them in an even better position moving forward.

So while Auburn has built a reputation of holding on to in-state players, South Carolina might be the more dangerous team in this recruitment.