Sometimes the recruiting carousel has to go around several times before recruits find their ideal landing spot. All that matters on signing day for college football programs pursuing them is that the roulette wheel falls at the right time. For TE Reid Mikeska, commitments to Clemson and Miami throughout the process didn't quite stick, but a late flip to South Carolina came at the perfect time for the Gamecocks, who are rebuilding their TE room following the departures of 4 TEs this offseason, including Transfers Jaheim Bell and Austin Stogner, a retirement from Traveon Kenion, and the graduation of Nate Adkins.

South Carolina has been in an ongoing conversation with Mikeska throughout the entire process, and he was one of the first recruits I wrote about when I first joined Gamecock Scoop last February. That said, after committing and decommitting to Clemson, and later committing to Miami, it was hard to tell how much of a shot the Gamecocks had with the athletic TE with prototypical size out of Texas until the last several weeks, including a late official visit from Mikeska this past weekend.

The Bridgeland High School star was named as a Houston Touchdown Club finalist for Offensive player of the year at the end of his senior season, a prestigious honor in one of the most competitive high school environments in the entire country. Mikeska got most of his offensive production in the red zone this season, but he's truly a dual threat as a prospect and was as known for his blocking as he was for his pass-catching ability.

This is a huge get for South Carolina, and he joins Connor Cox and Kamron Sandlin as incoming freshmen TEs in the 2023 class, along with recent UF Transfer Nick Elksnis and Arkansas Transfer Trey Knox to help reinvigorate that depth chart as quickly as it emptied earlier this month.