Gamecocks make school visit to top 2023 QB target. He’ll be at junior day Saturday

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer along with offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and tight ends coach Erik Kimrey made a stop at Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia Thursday to check in on Class of 2023 quarterback Dylan Lonergan.

The Gamecocks have made Lonergan (6-2, 197) their top quarterback target for his class, and he has been highly receptive to their overtures.

Lonergan will attend the junior day at USC Saturday. His father, Dan, was not at the school meeting, but his mother, who works at the school, was there to meet with the Gamecock trio.

“Since she works at the school she’s actually able to meet them, and she spoke incredibly of the entire staff, particularly Coach Beamer, who she has met before and really enjoys speaking to,” Dan Lonergan said. “It was just a very positive visit.”

Lonergan posted a top 12 that includes USC, Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss, Oregon, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State. His dad believes when his son cuts the list to a smaller number, the Gamecocks will still be right there.

“They are in Dylan’s top group,” Dan Lonergan said. “The last thing he posted was his top 12. I’m sure he has a smaller, tighter group now which the Gamecocks will be part of for sure. We got there twice over the fall, and we’re actually headed there for junior day on Saturday.”

Dan Lonergan, who was a quarterback at Penn State in 1982-83, said he and his son have been greatly impressed with the immediate impact Beamer has had on the Gamecock program.

“It’s a commitment to excellence, a commitment to culture,” Dan Lonergan said. “I think they’ve done an amazing job in one year in changing the culture which is critical to turning the ship around. I think he’s been able to do that, which then turns into being able to recruit elite talent. I think it only gets better from here.

“Coach Satterfield has proven historically where’s he’s been he’s been able to develop quarterbacks. It was certainly trying this year because of injuries, but I think they are positioned well for the future. In just speaking with Coach Satterfield, Kimrey and Coach Beamer, I think the offense that they run is suited for a guy like Dylan and will help him improve and prepare for the next level, which is a goal of his.”

There is still plenty of work for the Gamecocks to do in this recruiting battle. There is, of course, the elephant in the room: National champion Georgia. Lonergan visited Athens last weekend for the Bulldogs’ big on-campus celebration.

“As far as I could tell, Dylan was the only quarterback at junior day this past week,” Lonergan said. “He’s probably one of less than a handful of quarterbacks that they are targeting. There’s definitely mutual interest. It’s a great program. Recruiting wise, they are in the top three to five every year, and they finally broke through and got over the hurdle of winning a championship, and it’s close to home. They have a lot of very, very positive things. We just enjoyed the trip and enjoyed spending time with their OC coach (Todd) Monken. We spent quite a bit of time with him.”

After visiting USC Saturday, Lonergan will visit Georgia Tech on Sunday. Next weekend he will visit Stanford. Also Thursday, Alabama coach Nick Saban was by the school, and Lonergan was offered again by LSU. He also picked up a recent offer from Virginia. And Clemson also is looming, though the Tigers haven’t offered.

“Dylan has been in contact with them, and I know he’s talked a lot with coach (Brandon) Streeter,” Lonegan said. “We were at Clemson a week or two before the South Carolina game. He’s had regular dialogue with Coach Streeter. As we met a few months back, he said that ‘we tend to go slower and we like you a lot, and over the next two to three months we’ll kind of re-access where we’re at.’ They only had one offer at the time which was (Arch) Manning and I think they subsequently offered one other kid (Christopher Vizzina).”

Lonergan also is a standout baseball player and plans to play both sports in college. The quality of the baseball program will be another fact in his decision, which his dad expects to be made this summer.

“It likely comes to a head in the summertime,” Lonergan said. “I think that makes sense because you make the decision before footballs season starts. It gives you the ability to be involved and help the recruiting class of 2023 being the quarterback. His decision is a little more complex with baseball, but as he thinks about it, summertime this year seems about right.”

According to MaxPreps, last season Lonergan passed for 3,392 yards, completing 63% of his passes, with 32 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. For his career, he’s passed for 6,239 yards, 57 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 993 yards and 16 touchdowns.