South Carolina's Recruiting Aided By Southeastern Region's Dominance
Most high school talent was not long ago in massive states like California, Texas, and Florida. Due to the massive populations of those states and the mega schools within them, such as Mater Dei and IMG Academy, these states became a hotbed for football talent. While these states and schools still produce elite talent, a geographical region has emerged as the leading force in elite football talent.
The southeast includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky. Those states have developed into a haven for elite youth football players. Of the top 30 ranked recruits in the 247 Sports 2023 class rankings, 14 came from the aforementioned ten states. The same goes for the 2022 class, with 16 of the top 30 coming from the southeast. The southeast geographical region has dominated high school sports in recent memory, and South Carolina has been a beneficiary.
Of the seven four-stars in South Carolina's 2023 recruiting class, only one player is not native to one of the ten states. The overwhelming majority of South Carolina's recruiting classes originate from this geographical region, which isn't necessarily surprising. What is surprising is South Carolina's ability to still acquire elite talent, even in an area concentrated with elite college football programs.
Being able to recruit and sign the 10th-best player in the state of Idaho is significantly different than being able to recruit the 10th-best player in Georgia. The selection pool South Carolina has its hand in is the most premier pool in the country, which is largely responsible for South Carolina's recent stretch of successful recruiting classes.
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