Jordan Burch has made his decision. That decision — which had a lot more intrigue than most on any recruiting beat — finally came to a conclusion on a live ESPN2 stream.
He rarely did any media. At all. His coaches tried to limit all media attention, including opportunities to watch any Hammond School practices.
When it came time to share his decision, Burch put on a South Carolina cap.
The biggest potential signee of the early signing period saw DawgNation’s eyes travel to South Carolina to see if the Bulldogs could pry Burch away from very large sets of claws for the nation’s No. 5 overall prospect for 2020.
Those claws belonged to the LSU Tigers and the Gamecocks, among others. Clemson was a contender for his signature for some time but the level of mutual affection there faded over the last six months.
While it did, he kept taking trips to Georgia to check out Kirby Smart and his program.
When it came time for him to reveal his decision, the moment was also wrapped in more of the same mystery. He had a series of Christmas-themed gift boxes arranged in front of him at the announcement podium.
The black-and-garnet hat of the Gamecocks was the one that fit him best.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pounder also rates as the nation’s No. 2 strong-side defensive end (247Sports Composite) for this cycle.
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Jordan Burch: What he brings to the table as an athlete
Burch is a wildly terrific athlete that showed a lot in the South Carolina Independent Schools Association. He caught touchdown passes, came up with big sacks and lined up as a running back and as a defensive back in some instances.
According to a feature story published by The State, he had quite a senior year for his Skyhawks. His hometown newspaper credited him as the team leader in sacks and more than 20 touchdowns this season. He had two touchdown runs in the championship game. And in three title game appearances, Burch scored nine touchdowns and also threw a TD pass.
He had a lot of influence locally to make his decision. His head coach at Hammond, Erik Kimrey, is a former backup quarterback for South Carolina under former coach Lou Holtz. His teammate, Alex Huntley, has been a long-time commitment to the Gamecocks as well.
Huntley is another 4-star DT prospect for the class of 2020. Jordan Muschamp was the quarterback of his high school team at Hammond, too. That’s the son of South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp.
It appears that all of those local connections certainly had to help the cause for Burch to stay in-state and choose the Gamecocks.