SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL RECRUITING

South Carolina offensive line coach Eric Wolford's persistent pursuit of Jakai Moore paid off.

The Nokesville (Va.) Patriot High class of 2019 three-star prospect committed to South Carolina over Penn State Monday afternoon during a ceremony at his school.

"I told them yesterday night that I was going to go with South Carolina instead of Penn State," Moore said, referring to Wolford and head coach Will Muschamp. "Man, they were hyped up. They were like, 'Now, I can sleep good.' Then they texted me this morning, 'You woke up a Gamecock.'"

ALSO SEE: Inside the commitment - Go behind the scenes of Jakai Moore's commitment to South Carolina

The announcement wasn't without drama as Moore revealed a South Carolina shirt, only to remove it for a Penn State hoodie, before trading it in favor of a Gamecocks shirt and hat in the end as classmates and teammates went wild in the school cafeteria.

Moore chooses the Gamecocks over 25-plus offers, including Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

But the decision always seemed destined to come down to South Carolina and Penn State, the two perceived favorites for most of Moore's process.

"Honesty, I looked at the big things," Moore said. "They're losing four out of five offensive linemen, so they're really in need of offensive linemen. I can come in and play early. In the SEC, on top of that, they play Georgia, Alabama , all of them. I'm hyped, let me tell you, I'm very hyped to play in the SEC."

Moore took an official visit to South Carolina in April before returning to camp in Columbia this summer. He was back on campus during the season for the Gamecocks' victory over Tennessee, when he spent the day with four-star quarterback commit Ryan Hilinski.

"It actually did [play a role], because when I got on the game field, I talked to Ryan Hilinksi," Moore said. "I even talked to him before that, took a picture with him and everything. I got to know him and I got a really good feeling about South Carolina. He told me how bad the really needed me. I walked on the game field, and I was like, 'Dang, this is the school for me.'"

Moore took his official visit to Penn State the second weekend of December and at one point was going to take an official to Clemson last weekend before ultimately canceling that trip.

Muschamp and Wolford met with Moore for the final time on this past Friday, taking in the big, athletic prospect's basketball game.

"So one thing about Coach Wolford, what he did, he didn't just include me, like everybody else did," Moore explained. "He included me and my family. Me and my mom, we were together, it wasn't just about me. That's one thing that I felt I had a really good strong bond with him."

Moore is the 18th commitment to South Carolina's 2019 class and the fourth offensive lineman.

Stay with GamecockCentral.com for complete coverage of the early signing period, which begins Wednesday, when most of South Carolina's 2019 commitments are expected to sign.