Markee Anderson is a Gamecock! Top recruit picks USC with unique commitment reveal

As an offensive lineman, Markee Anderson has handed out his share of pancake blocks. So it was only fitting Anderson used a pancake theme Sunday when he announced his college decision.

The Dorman High School senior grabbed a bottle of syrup with the South Carolina logo and poured it over a stack of pancakes to announce his commitment to Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks.

“What they are building down there is special, and I want to be a part of it,” Anderson said.

Anderson picked South Carolina over LSU, North Carolina and Clemson. He had syrup bottles with the logos of each school onstage with him during his commitment reveal at Kingdom Builders Baptist Church.

Anderson said the decision likely came down to the Gamecocks and UNC. DJ Geth, his Dorman offensive line teammate, picked the Tar Heels earlier this month but didn’t really pressure his teammate to join him at UNC. Geth and other Dorman teammates and coaches attended Sunday’s ceremony.

New Dorman coach Dustin Curtis has only been around Anderson since taking the job in December, but the big lineman has already made an impression.

“He is a really mature kid and really infectious personality,” said Curtis, who won a state championship at A.C. Flora in 2020. “He works hard in the weight room and is a great teammate. When you have a kid like him who has been such a high profile recruit but they also have a positive impact on the program, that provides you something that you can’t artificially create.

“What an example this kid has given to his teammates and future teammates that will come out of Dorman High School.”

Curtis compares having Anderson, a tackle, and Geth, a guard, to the offensive line he watched as a first-year assistant at Spring Valley High. That year, the Vikings had three future Division I recruits in Mason Kloy (Clemson), Quintin Richardson (South Carolina) and Kyle Fischer (Vanderbilt).

“They are both big, strong, physical and have good hands,” Curtis said of Anderson and Geth. “They can both pull on the offensive line, but Markee doesn’t have to because he is a tackle. But the exciting thing is watching him run in the open field because it is legit. It helps you create big plays in the screen game.”

Anderson started out in football on the defensive line until his eighth-grade year. He recalled going against guys two and three years older at a camp and knew then it was time switch to the offensive side of the ball.

“I got completely embarrassed and got drove five to 10 yards back,” Anderson said. “At that moment, I stopped playing defense.”

Anderson (6-4, 305) was the fourth commitment for USC this weekend. He estimated he’s been to the South Carolina campus in Columbia eight times this year alone.

Anderson took his official visit to South Carolina on June 24 but didn’t fully know where he was headed until Thursday of this week, he said. That’s when he told his family and then called Beamer to let him know the good news.

Anderson also talked Sunday about the relationship he has built with USC offensive line coach Greg Adkins.

“There’s just something about South Carolina that stuck out in my head, and they just came out on top,” Anderson said about his decision. “Genuine love. They show me genuine love and respect, me and my family. I love it down there.”

Anderson also been selected to play in the Under Armour All-American game. He intends to graduated midyear from Dorman and enroll at South Carolina in January, he said Sunday.

Anderson will join his sister at USC. Markia Anderson will be part of the Gamecocks’ track and field program this year.

247Sports Composite ranks Anderson as second-best prospect in South Carolina and No. 136 nationally. He’s the top-rated in-state prospect over two recruiting cycles to commit to Beamer, who is entering his second year as the Gamecocks’ coach.

Anderson is also the 15th announced commitment to the Gamecocks’ class and third in-state product, joining Rhames and Legion Collegiate defensive back Judge Collier. The Gamecocks lost one commitment earlier on Sunday when Cam Upshaw announced he was reopening his recruitment.

Class of 2024 defensive back Karson Hobbs of Archbishop Moeller High in Ohio committed to the Gamecocks on Friday. Class of 2023 defensive lineman Monteque Rhames pledged on Saturday, with Georgia offensive lineman Jatavius Shivers joining USC’s 2023 class earlier Sunday.

With this weekend’s commitments, South Carolina is 22nd in recruiting rankings, according to 247Sports. Of the 15 players committed to USC for 2023, 247Sports has seven of them ranked as four-star players.

South Carolina 2023 commits

• RB Dontavius Braswell, Washington County (Ga.)

• OL Trovon Baugh, Pace Academy (Ga.)

• OL Isaiah Jatta, Snow College (Utah)

• OL Markee Anderson, Dorman

• OL Jatavius Shivers (Ga.)

• WR Kelton Henderson, Lehigh Acres (Fla.)

• WR CJ Adams, Pebblebrook (Ga.)

• TE Connor Cox, The Bolles School (Fla.)

• ATH Kamron Sandlin, Anniston (Ala.)

• ATH Judge Collier, Legion Collegiate, Rock Hill

• DL Monteque Rhames, Sumter

• LB Grayson Howard, Andrew Jackson (Fla.)

• LB Jaden Robinson, Columbia (Fla.)

• S Jalon Kilgore, Putnam County (Ga.)

• S Zahbari Sandy, St John’s, Washington (DC)