It didn't take Land 'o Lakes (Fla.) Sunlake class of 2022 kicker Daniel Lester long to figure out he wanted to be a Gamecock.

South Carolina special teams coordinator Pete Lembo called Lester last week to offer him a preferred walk-on opportunity with the school. Lester reciprocated the interest with a commitment to the Gamecocks before the phone call even ended.

"For me, it wasn't a hard decision," said Lester, who first started hearing from the Gamecocks in mid-December. "I obviously wanted to play in the SEC, so that was a big part of it, and then the other part was I saw the way Coach (Shane) Beamer took the team from a two-win team to winning a bowl game. I love his attitude, I love the coaching style. I love everything about him and I love everything about the team and the brotherhood."

Listed at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, Lester is ranked the No. 6 kicker in the 2022 class according to Kornblue Kicking, which puts on specialists camps across the country.

While Lester has never taken a recruiting visit to South Carolina, he has been to Columbia before and even walked around the campus with a friend who is a current student.

Lester was also impressed with the message from Lembo, widely regarded one of the nation's best special teams coordinators.

"I think he's a great special teams coach," Lester said. "I've seen some things but really what stood out to me was Parker White, how he was an amazing, amazing placekicker. I love that and when I've been on the phone with Coach Lembo, he was always real with me, told me about everything, never lied, never sugarcoated anything, and I appreciated that and the honesty that he gave me. Everything he said was great."

Lester, who plans to take a visit to the school on Jan. 29, gave fans an idea of what to expect from his skillset.

"I punt a little bit; I had around a 40-yard average this year, like 38 or 39, but I'd say I'm a kickoff guy," Lester said. "Every time we tried for a touchback, it was five yards out of the end zone. I'm a kickoff specialist, I would say. For my field goals, I was good for everything inside 50. I hit one from 52 and I missed one from 60, it was just a little short. I would say I'm good for anywhere inside 55."

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