Rock Hill has historically been a crucial talent pool for the University of South Carolina when it comes to in-state prospects, and it seemed 2025 4-star WR Malik Clark would be the latest addition to that pipeline. Instead, Clark pledged his commitment to Florida State today during his Rivals' exclusive commitment announcement. The Seminoles made a late push after this seemed like a UNC/Gamecock battle through the majority of the process, but a late visit to Tallahassee seemed to make the difference.

After his June official visit, Clark told Rivals, “For it to be so far away from home and for it to feel like home is always a great thing,” Clark previously said. “You can come around here and you feel like you’re already on the team even though it’s their first time meeting you."

Florida State continued to make a move, with the momentum building up to today's announcement. It's unclear yet if the Gamecocks will continue to push to flip Clark in the months to come.

While the miss is a blow to the 2025 WR recruiting class, the Gamecocks still have some prospects with various upsides verbally committed in the class, including Brian Rowe, Lex Cyrus, and Jayden Sellers.

Still, if South Carolina hopes to reach a higher peak under Shane Beamer, you have to keep the best players in South Carolina in the state, something they accomplished in the 2024 class, namely with the big 3 OL prospects but haven't had as much success with in 2025.

"It was a difficult decision and it took a lot of long, hard thinking, and it came down to where I felt like I would have the best chance to compete for championships and make it to the league," Clark told Rivals of his decision.

Stay tuned to GamecockScoop.com for more recruiting news and updates on if the Gamecocks can work their way back into conversations with Clark despite today's announcement.