Top RB recruit Daniel Hill talks to Gamecocks ‘every day.’ Will he commit?

Longtime South Carolina football running back target Daniel Hill is ready to publicly announce his college commitment Saturday.

Emphasis on “announce,” because he’s already made the decision.

Speaking with 247Sports’ Tom Loy on Monday, Hill, a four-star 2024 recruit who has USC as one of his four finalists, said that he privately signed a national letter of intent with his school of choice during last month’s early signing period.

Hill, the No. 176 composite recruit in the country, will reveal that choice during Saturday’s All-American Bowl played at the Alamodome in San Antonio (1 p.m., NBC) before enrolling early the following week.

After a long and winding recruitment, Hill said that he and his family didn’t make a final decision between his four finalists – Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee – until Dec. 20, the first day of the early signing period.

“That morning, we came together and made the decision and kept it quiet since then,” said Hill, who just wrapped up his senior year at Meridian High School in Mississippi.

As for the Gamecocks’ chances to land Hill?

At this point, it seems unlikely.

USC offered Hill a scholarship in September 2022 and was long a front-runner in his recruitment. He visited Columbia for South Carolina’s spring game in April, took an official visit to campus in June and initially set a commitment date for late August.

Hill, however, delayed that decision indefinitely a day beforehand, later telling SportsTalkSC that although he’d personally “made up my mind” on where he wanted to commit, everybody in his family “wasn’t on the same page.”

Since then, Alabama – which just ended its season with a loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Monday – has steadily trended upward with Hill.

Hill, who lives only an hour and change away from Alabama’s campus, was a frequent visitor to Tuscaloosa this season. National recruiting experts at 247Sports and On3 Sports have also filed predictions over the last few days for Hill to announce for the Crimson Tide.

On3 Sports’ Chad Simmons wrote earlier this week that Hill’s recruitment has been a “wild one,” with Mississippi State (where Hill’s dad played football) also emerging as a late contender after the Bulldogs hired a new coach, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

Alabama has emerged as the favorite heading into Saturday, though. Hill said in his interview with 247Sports on Monday that the program would be “a perfect fit for me.”

He added of South Carolina, which is coming off a 5-7 season under coach Shane Beamer: “Ever since Day One, they have been showing constant love. We’ve been talking every day or every other day. They have been showing me the future with the recruiting class coming in and how I could be a big piece of that to get them back on track.”

Hill (5-foot-11.5, 239 pounds) rushed for over 2,000 yards as a senior at Meridian and finished his prep career with over 5,000 rushing yards and 80 total touchdowns. He ranks as the No. 16 running back recruit nationally in the 247Sports composite.

What’s next for USC at RB?

With Hill most likely out of the picture, USC has taken steps in recent weeks to address the running back position via the transfer portal.

The Gamecocks have landed commitments from three transfer running backs, led by former All-SEC running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders of Arkansas. USC has also added former North Texas RB Oscar Adaway and former South Carolina State RB Jawarn Howell.

Those three players will join four-star 2024 running back Matthew Fuller (who committed to USC in June, ahead of Hill, and signed last month) as newcomers in USC’s running backs room next season.

Senior Juju McDowell and sophomore Djay Braswell also return for 2024, giving South Carolina six scholarship running backs after the team struggled with depth at that position last year.