Gamecocks commit Ryan Hilinski recaps official visit
With two unofficial visits already in the books this spring and a commitment to the program out of the way, Orange (Ca.) Lutheran quarterback Ryan Hilinski already has a good feel for everything the South Carolina program has to offer.
So when the 6-foot-4, 218-pounder took his official visit to Columbia this weekend, it was more about getting down to the details of the Gamecocks offense and getting to know his future teammates.
"I thought we had a great time, my family and I, and the great thing was we got to eat dinner at Coach Muschamp's house, Muschamp Island or whatever you want to call it, and that was fun on Friday night to get welcomed by that," Hilinski said. "But I thought the coolest part was sitting with Coach (Dan) Werner. He started installing pass-protections with me, telling me what they were going to do, and telling me what their names are for it. We watched cutups of the spring game and I got a real good feel for him and the offense and what they're trying to do and I just really like it because it's very similar to our offense that we're running out here."
Hilinski was hosted on the trip by quarterbacks Jake Bentley and Michael Scarnecchia, who helped show him around and allowed him the opportunity to get to know some of his other future teammates.
"I think that's one of the biggest things, when Jake and I went out and met a couple of guys," Hilinski said. "I've already got a couple of guys on the team Tweeting at me and the DBs saying they're going to pick-six me just joking around. I definitely already feel like I'm a part of the team and I know the guys really want me to be a part of the team. Just having that relationship already built in with Jake too is really a plus. I just know I'm not going there to lose games and I'm super excited about that."
Saturday's cookout event that Hilinski attended also featured a first for a Carolina recruiting event.
The staff grabbed some of its big screens from practice and threw the viral video game sensation 'Fortnite' -- the most popular game on the planet -- up on it.
"That was probably about 25 percent of our conversations with Logan Hall and a couple of those guys," Hilinski said. "We talked about Fortnite and they had it set up when we got back from our scavenger hunt on the lawn. Then I get a Top 5 situation [in the game] and everyone's watching me and I didn't clutch it - I died Top 3. But that was pretty cool, though, we had everybody there. They were like, 'We know you liked it,' so they set it up and gave me the sticks and I did my best. But that was pretty cool."
Hilinski also used his time in Columbia to recruit other top prospects to join him.
"I thought it was a great weekend, a great recruiting weekend," Hilinski said. "I talked to Mr. (Zacch) Pickens, the big defensive end. I thought it was a great recruiting weekend. We got a 2020 offensive lineman. He committed about 15 minutes after I talked to him. And that was just great to see and I know Coach Muschamp was fired up. It was an overall success for sure."