Imatorbhebhe lands offer

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South Carolina has been ramping up its recruitment of class of 2016 Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett four-star wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe lately, and Thursday quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus offered the 6-foot-2, 202-pounder.

"I've talked to Coach Mangus a pretty good amount of times before, so when he came, he really didn't waste any time, he talked to my coach and said they were going to offer me," Imatorbhebhe said. "I've already developed a relationship with him and everything. I wasn't super surprised, because they had really been coming on hard and recruiting me. I know this was the first day out of the dead period, and we were actually the first school he came to. So when he offered, I was happy, but I wasn't super surprised because I had a feeling that he was going to offer me. I was very, very thankful and humbled that he sees the potential in me. It was great."

Mangus landed four-star defensive end Dante Sawyer from the school in 2014, but it's two other South Carolina commitments that are helping Carolina early on with Imatorbhebhe.

"Two of my closest friends, Brandon McIlwain and Kyle Davis, are committed there," Imatorbhebhe said. "I get a lot of their propaganda to get me to come down over there. I love (South Carolina). I've been observing them. I like to see Spurrier just as a coach and a leader and the approach that he takes the game. He's not like a dictator, but he looks like a fun coach to play for. I really see that as a great option to explore. South Carolina is a great and beautiful state and I'm looking forward to going up to the school sometime soon."

Imatorbhebhe says it's possible he makes his first trip to Columbia for an upcoming junior day, but McIlwain and Davis have already told him plenty about the school.

"They tell me the whole #wecocky thing, you know what I mean? They're telling me, 'You've got to get up here,'" Imatorbhebhe said. "I met Brandon at Stanford camp over the summer. We were rooming together and we had really, really good chemistry, and before he committed, he was like, 'Hey man, we would be so dynamic together. I'd love to play with you in college.' I would like, 'Dude, yeah, I know.' And after he committed to South Carolina, he's been like 'Dude, you've got to come up here with me, you've got to come up here with me,' so it's just that, just the camaraderie that leads us to wanting to play and compete at the next level with each other."

Imatorbhebhe, who is ranked the No. 26 wide receiver in his class by Rivals.com, has developed a strong early relationship with Mangus.

"I love Coach Mangus," Imatorbhebhe said. "Everything is easy, nothing is forced. We have a good relationship, I would say. I like Coach Mangus, he's a great recruiter."

Imatorbhebhe already has 18 offers to his name with five that have caught his attention early on, one of which stands out a bit more than the rest.

Click Here to view this Link."I have a pretty good idea of what I like out of the schools that I have offers from," Imatorbhebhe said. "If I had to say, I would probably say Ohio State is the team to beat and then in no order after that, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Michigan State now. Those are probably right now the top five that are heavily considered, but everything is subject to change, because I do have a long time to pick where I'm going to go, so I'm going to take everything with a grain of salt and look at every option that I have very closely and make sure that every place gets looked at."

What is he looking for in a program? Imatorbhebhe says it boils down to three main factors.

"There's a lot of boxes you could check. You can check boxes off until your hand falls off, but at the end of the day, you want to go to a place where you feel like you'll be happy. I have a mindset that I'm going to excel wherever I go, so the real trick is, where am I going to be happy? Not just where I'm happiest as a football player, but as a person, as a man, as a Christian, and wherever that place may be is wherever I feel the most comfortable, football aside, because I know that that's going to be there for me. But the place that I feel like that I'm going to be able to grow the most, just that environment, I think that's the biggest factor, and I think that's why it's so important to visit the schools that have shown interest in me, so I won't be leaving anything out.

"That and the academics -- I know everybody says academics -- but the major that I want to study, they have to be particularly strong in that area. That and this isn't a huge deal, but I would like for my parents to be able to see some of my games, if not all of them, and have their support. Those are just the three things that I feel stand out the most to me when I'm considering a school that I want to go to."

Imatorbhebhe is considered the No. 130 overall prospect in his class and the No. 16 prospect in Georgia.