Three-star instate S Kelvin Hunter to visit Gamecocks vs. Georgia State

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Kelvin Hunter is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back starring for the West Florence Knights, a AAAA (4A) South Carolina High School League powerhouse hailing from the Pee Dee region of the Palmetto State.

The Rivals three-star prospect runs a blazing fast speed (4.40 40-yard dash), boasts strong measurables (235-pound bench, 315-pound squat), and finds a way to the football. Hunter recorded 21 solo tackles, 13 assisted tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass breakup, and one defensive touchdown in 2021.

The shifty safety was a large piece of the puzzle for a program that finished 9-4 last fall, the Knights only falling one game short of the state championship. West Florence was blown out by Beaufort, 42-10.

Kelvin is yet again a key cog in the system for a program that has dominated in 2022, starting 2-0 with victories over the Lexington Wildcats (31-28) and Lake City Panthers (32-7) thus far.

High school football is important, but win or lose on Friday, Kelvin will take a break from his daily grind and instead lock in with the sights, sounds, and scenes of his potential future school on Saturday when he makes the short, 77.8-mile trip southwest to Columbia.

What he’s most excited to see on Saturday: “I just want to see how the team performs here. Last year, they didn’t miss by much, but this year, it seems like they’re returning a few more key pieces. I feel like they’re going to do better than they did last year,” the prospect boldly predicted.

Here, he and other top high school student-athletes across South Carolina and the United States will be welcomed with open arms into the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium, where they will together watch South Carolina’s season-opening bout with the Georgia State Panthers at 7:30 alongside 77,000 loyal members of Gamecock County for a campus game day visit.

The visit will cap an excellent weekend of “Southern Fried Football” for Hunter, whose Knights will do battle with fellow Pee Dee power Socastee under the “Carolina Friday Night Lights” the night before he heads to the Capital to watch second-year head coach Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks do battle against Shawn Elliott, former South Carolina offensive line coach, interim head coach, and current head coach of the Panthers.

South Carolina was the first school to pull the trigger on Kelvin, on June 8, 2021, and with the consistent love the Gamecocks have been showing the student-athlete, the trending underdog SEC program now sits in Kelvin’s unofficial top two.

“Blood is thicker than water” is a well-known phrase, and one big factor for South Carolina in their recruitment of Kelvin is the presence of junior DB Cam Smith (Westwood Redhawks, Blythewood, SC), a preseason ESPN All-American nominee that finished second-team All-SEC awards in 2021 (Associated Press) that only allowed 15 catches on 32 targets and multiple receptions from receivers in 2 of 11 contests that he competed in last fall.

Smith is Kelvin’s first cousin.

“It means a lot because that’s somebody you know and trust, personally, that is playing there. He’s doing great things, and I know that if I were to go to (South Carolina), it’s facts, I could go do great things with him,” he said.

But that’s not all, as he and several other student-athletes agree that the new coaching staff at South Carolina has provided fresh blood, establishing a family-first, winner’s mindset to the Gamecocks’ revived program.

“You can see that he’s changed the program. It’s more positive, it’s more family-oriented, with (Beamer) coming in,” Hunter said.

Coaches “Keeping up with Kelvin” most consistently within 2024 recruiting guidelines include defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, defensive ends and outside linebackers coach Sterling Lucas, and Clayton White, defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach.

Gray, who would be Kelvin’s defensive backs’ coach if the student-athlete elected to sign with South Carolina, has made one of the biggest impacts on Hunter’s recruitment thus far.

The former Florida Gators cornerbacks coach leading Vernon Hargreaves and several other standout Gamecocks and Gators during his career, including Kelvin’s cousin, Cam, provides a trustworthy personality, tough-love coaching style, and defensive playbook that the West Florence standout believes in which he would thrive.

“Those are the main three that are (keeping in touch), along with Coach Beamer, of course. (Gray) is a great coach. His personality is wild and crazy in a fun kind of way. He reminds me of my high school coach, a person that I can trust, and someone that I would be cool with talking to,” he said.

“The system is similar to what we currently run at West Florence. So if I come to South Carolina, it will be a defense that I’m already equipped with,” Hunter said.

When last speaking with recruiting editor Lee Wardlaw a few weeks ago, Hunter said that his unofficial final three schools of six offers from Appalachian State. Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech had come down to the Chanticleers, Gamecocks, and Hokies, but now, that list (which is subject to change) has been narrowed to Coastal and South Carolina, the two schools he’s sandwiched in between in ‘Flo-Town.’

His take on head coach Jamey Chadwell and the Chanticleers:

“It’s almost as if it’s the same thing as South Carolina. They’re also in a building stage. Coach Chadwell brings a similar energy to (Shane) Beamer, and they’re showing me the same love,” he said.

After this weekend, Gamecock Scoop will once again speak with Hunter to see if South Carolina stands out any further following his game visit to the college football mecca in Columbia.