Tennessee Presents Unique Recruiting Atmosphere
The atmosphere will be electric in Columbia this weekend for Tennessee vs. South Carolina. Unsurprisingly, Williams-Brice Stadium is sold out, and the Gamecocks are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
While this game may seem like an exciting yet low-stakes game against one of the nation's best teams, there are enormous implications for South Carolina Saturday.
South Carolina will be hosting a myriad of high-profile recruits this weekend. With the Gamecocks season dwindling and their record set at 6-4, there isn't a lot a win can do for their bowl game implications besides moving their date up a week or so, but enticing recruits should be goal number one.
If you didn't know, recruits can choose what game they want to use as their visit, assuming it's a home game. Many of the recruits chose this game because they wanted to see what kind of environment South Carolina has when it comes to big nationally televised games.
They want to see fans locked in from the opening kickoff, screaming and shouting like in the game against Texas A&M earlier this year. Recruits don't want to play in a dull environment; they want the voices of 80,000 to shake the stadium.
It will be essential for the fans attending the game to let their presence be known, but it's also crucial for the team to compete. The recruits understand how talented the Volunteers are, but they want to play in a culture always competing and battling. The Gamecocks rolling over early in the first half and letting Tennessee run up the score would leave a sour taste in many of the recruits' mouths.
These young players, many of whom are high school seniors, are trying to envision themselves in a Gamecock jersey, and it's challenging to do so when you lose by three scores at the end of the first half.
Energetic and competitive play on the field is what they want to see, and South Carolina needs to make that happen, or they run the risk of missing out on some big recruits.
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