Former South Carolina football coach, European prospects pop in at latest USC camp

South Carolina football camp season is under way.

The Gamecocks held their second of six high school mini camps this month on Friday. Here’s a look at a few of the prospects who showed up and other news and notes from the day at the Jerri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Facility:

• Former South Carolina assistant coach Mike Peterson was in the building on Friday with his son, 2025 athlete/receiver prospect Mike Peterson Jr. The elder Peterson was on Shane Beamer’s initial staff before joining Billy Napier at Florida, his alma mater. Peterson spent a good chunk of time before the camp visiting with his former co-workers, including defensive coordinator Clayton White. The younger Peterson already boasts offers from Western Kentucky, Tulsa, Arkansas State and Alabama A&M.

• Three-star 2024 Maryland linebacker commit Justin Okoronkwo was at camp — all the way from Germany. Okoronkwo, who was in Columbia with a group of recruits who are part of Premiere Prospects International, impressed the staff with a 40-yard dash in the 4.5-second neighborhood. He may well be an offer candidate sooner than later. Okoronkwo has already received offers from Michigan and Penn State, in addition to his current pledge to Maryland.

• Three-star linebacker David Bucey was also in for Friday’s camp. Bucey doesn’t have a South Carolina offer but is from the same area as four-star tight end commit Michael Smith in Savannah, Georgia. He received ample attention from the Gamecocks staff and, like Okoronkwo, is a likely offer candidate. Bucey holds Power Five offers from Iowa State, West Virginia and Washington State, along with Tulane, Buffalo, Appalachian State and Florida Atlantic, among others.

• 2026 quarterback Briggs Cherry visited with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and head coach Shane Beamer. Cherry, who plays for ex-South Carolina assistant Erik Kimrey at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, already has offers from Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and Pitt.

• A number of current players hung around camp, helping run a few drills and visiting with coaches. Luke Doty, LaNorris Sellers, Markee Anderson, Ahmarean Brown and a handful of others spent the bulk of the morning in and around the indoor facility. Doty spent time working with the quarterbacks and chatting up campers in the early part of the afternoon session.

• Northwestern High School (Rock Hill) brought a large contingent of players to the camp, along with a number of coaches. Staffers from the school spent time before camp started chatting with freshman Gamecocks receiver Elijah Caldwell, who starred for the Trojans and recently arrived on campus.

• Coaches from Charleston Southern and Mercer were on hand in Columbia. It’s fairly standard for smaller school coaches to help run summer camps, and Tuesday was no exception. Among those at camp was CSU offensive coordinator Adam Hollifield — who has past FBS experience from his time on staff at Texas State and UAB.