South Carolina checked all the boxes: 4-star RB Brayden Tyson commits to the Gamecocks
· Yahoo Sports
Brayden Tyson kept going back, and every time, the feeling got stronger.
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After six trips to South Carolina, including an official visit earlier this month, the four-star running back out of Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood made it official, committing to Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks over Florida State, Purdue and Rutgers.
“It feels like home. I feel like I could go there even if I wasn’t playing football,” Tyson told Rivals.
That feeling didn’t come overnight.
South Carolina was one of the first programs to believe in Tyson, offering early before he started high school and staying consistent throughout the process.
“They believed in me early,” he said. “That meant a lot in the beginning, then they just stayed with me the whole process. Over time, I built strong relationships with the coaches, I learned more about the program, and when I visited there, it just always felt right.”
Tyson had already built a strong foundation with the program before his official visit, and that last trip sealed the deal.
“The official visit was the icing on top,” he said. “After I went to other schools, it just didn’t feel the same. I really knew it was South Carolina on a visit earlier this spring when I was there for an unofficial visit, but I kept taking visits to make sure. On the official visit, that was it — I knew 100%.”
Tyson believes in the South Carolina staff
Running backs coach Stan Drayton played a major role in getting this one done.
“He’s a very God-centered person, and he’s developed backs like me,” Tyson said. “That shows me he knows how to develop me the right way.”
The relationship built quickly — and it stuck.
“He did a great job… he came to my school, met my family, and the relationship just kept growing. He is a great coach, and since he got to South Carolina, he has recruited me hard. I know he wants me there.”
Head coach Shane Beamer made an impression as well.
“He’s a player’s coach, and he cares about you more than just football,” he said. “He makes it feel like a family. Coach Beamer has a great personality, he is fun to be around and I know he will do what is best for me.”
That culture helped separate South Carolina from the rest of his finalists.
“The coaching staff is amazing, and it’s not too far from home,” Tyson said. “With those things, and the development, it just checked all the boxes.”
In the end, everything pointed back to Columbia.
Now that the decision is made, Tyson is ready to move forward — and he doesn’t plan to look back.
“Loyalty means everything to me,” he said. “South Carolina has been with me, I am with them, and I am planning to shut everything down.”