How a 2 a.m. text message kept South Carolina in the game for Jalewis Solomon
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer received the unusual message.
His team had just lost a recruiting battle with Auburn as Ellaville, Georgia athlete Jalewis Solomon publicly picked the Tigers over the Gamecocks and a slew of other high-profile offers. But the two-way Schley County High School star still had something he wanted Beamer to know.
“I remember him sending me a text message at like 2 o’clock in the morning after that,” Beamer said. “It just said, ‘Please don’t stop recruiting me.’ And I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but we didn’t. And thankfully it worked out in the end the way that I think it was supposed to work out.”
Solomon signed with the Gamecocks as a defensive back last week in the 2024 recruiting class. At a listed 6-foot, 185 pounds, he’s an intriguing talent. and brings size at a crucial position.
And he has some soft skills that caught the attention of the Gamecocks’ staff.
“A lot of guys, when you’re recruiting them ... they talk about what their goals are and what they’re going to accomplish as a player in your program,” Beamer said. “And you believe all of them, but when he says it you know it’s going to happen. He’s extremely talented, and he’s just very very driven and about the right stuff. Just extremely focused on being great and just a mature kid in a lot of ways.”
He was a strong defensive player for Schley County and as a senior racked up big plays, picking off eight passes and breaking up six more. He wasn’t bad on offense either, posting 70 passes for 1,072 yards and 11 touchdowns.
That helped earn him a four-star rating, coming in 212th nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
He joins a corner position that was thin last season and is in a bit of transition. The team in 2023 relied heavily on Marcellas Dial and O’Donnell Fortune on the outside, with Judge Collier chipping in some and Emory Floyd Jr. getting a little work.
Dial is out of eligibility, and Collier and Floyd are pretty green. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the staff add at least one guy from the transfer portal (maybe more), but that also means a chance for a player like Solomon.
His height isn’t common and is valuable at that spot. Corner is also a place where the right true freshman can make an impact. It’s far too early to project anything, but with his ability and the situation where he’ll play, he should have a chance.
“He’s a guy that you could put him anywhere — offense, defense, special teams — and I think he’s going to thrive,” Beamer said. “He’ll start out as a corner for us. That’s where we see him and we’re excited to get to work with him. Really could be a difference maker for us I believe.”
