Gamecocks land in-state DT Demetrius Watson

Coming off a big win over the Florida Gators, Shane Beamer has added another talented prospect to the 2022 recruiting class.

Fort Dorchester's Demetrius Watson announced his pledge on Sunday night.

Watson's return to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night to watch Carolina's 40-17 victory seemed to put things over the top.

"The game was awesome, the atmosphere was awesome, everything was great," Watson told GamecockCentral.com on Sunday.

Watson officially hit the Gamecock staff's radar back in June, when a strong camp performance propelled him to a scholarship offer.

Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech have also extended offers to Watson, who's drawn interest from other Power 5 programs as well.

The way that Carolina's defensive line played on Saturday night appealed to Watson, too.

"We were sitting over where the walk out basically, so I got to see the defensive line from the end zone view," he explained. "I liked all of it."

For the Gamecocks, defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey took the lead on Watson's recruitment and built a strong relationship.

Said Watson: "It's great. I wouldn't even say it's like a player-coach, I'd say he's like a father figure in my life. An uncle, or something like that. We talk a lot about football, but outside of football, like what I'm doing, if I went fishing, what I had for dinner and stuff like that."

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