Four-star South Carolina football target moves up commitment date following USC official visit

Four-star South Carolina target and class of 2027 Garner (NC) linebacker AJ Randle Jr. is nearing a college decision. According to a report from Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett, Randle will announce his commitment on Thursday, May 21. Originally, he had planned to make his pledge on June 30.

Randle’s final six suitors are the South Carolina Gamecocks, Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators, NC State Wolfpack, Georgia Bulldogs, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Perhaps working in USC’s favor, Randle has taken just one official visit, his May 1 trip to Columbia. He currently has OVs on the docket to Florida (May 29), Miami (June 5), Ohio State (June 12), and Georgia (June 19). A previously scheduled trip to check out NC State (May 8) never happened. It is unclear if he plans to take all of his officials.

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Following his official visit to South Carolina, Randle told GamecockCentral’s Wes Mitchell that the Gamecocks set a high bar with the visit and that Columbia “feels like a place I could call home.” You can read more about that recent trip here.

Randle recently revealed to Rivals that he had a top three in mind ahead of his upcoming commitment. South Carolina and Miami appear to be two of those top three, though the final school is not 100% known. However, Ohio State and Florida have had significant buzz at other points this spring.

According to the Rivals Industry Ranking—a composite average of the rankings from Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN—Randle is the No. 96 overall player in the class of 2027. He is also No. 6 nationally among all linebacker prospects. In the state of North Carolina, regardless of position, he ranks No. 5. Randle is a unanimous four-star recruit.

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