Dak Brinkley, son of Gamecock great Jasper Brinkley, plans to visit South Carolina
Two of the most popular players in the modern history of South Carolina football are twin linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley.
The brothers from Thomson, Georgia came to USC from Georgia Military College and were impact players in Columbia before going to the NFL. They are now in the trucking business in Katy, Texas, and Jasper has a son who is a major prospect.
Dakyus (Dak) Brinkley (6-4, 225) is a rising senior defensive end with offers from Texas, Texas Tech, Houston, Oregon, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Purdue, SMU, TCU and Texas A&M.
Brinkley has visited Texas and Oklahoma unofficially, and he has an official visit set with Kansas for June 9. He also wants to set official visits with Penn State and Texas, among others.
New USC defensive line coach Travian Robertson, who was a teammate of the Brinkley twins with the Gamecocks, has been in touch with the younger Brinkley. The plan is for him to visit this summer and display his talents in front of Robertson, defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas and head coach Shane Beamer.
“I’m still in the middle of choosing the date and finalizing, but my pop said we’ll try to be there in the summer for a camp for sure,” Brinkley said. “They want to get me down there to a camp and see me in person and see how I look. It hasn’t been anything official, set in stone yet. I started talking to South Carolina the middle of my junior year. They sent me a couple of camp dates.”
When he gets the chance to work out for the Gamecock coaches, Brinkley said he’s confident they’ll like what they see.
“I’ll show them the player I’ve been showing these other colleges that’s been recruiting me,” Brinkley said. “I can play D-end. I can play the standout edge. I can even play linebacker. What I will show them is my versatility. I play mostly with my hand in the dirt now, but I used to play mostly standing up.”
If the Gamecocks decide to make a move and offer Brinkley, it’s reasonable to think they’d have some help from their two former standouts with their prodigy. Dak can see that happening, but he also knows his father won’t push him in any one direction.
“He’s like, ‘Any college you go to I’m going to support you 100 percent,’ ” Brinkley said. “I would like to visit South Carolina this summer. He’s got no problem with it because it’s his alma mater. He’ll gladly take me this summer.”
Brinkley said there are no favorites with him right now, and he’d like to make a decision sooner than later because he plans to graduate early and enroll in college in January.
