South Carolina Commit Dante Sawyer Reportedly Headed to JUCO

The South Carolina Gamecocks will have to wait at least one more year before seeing one of their top 2014 signees take the field.

On Thursday morning, it was announced that 4-star defensive end Dante Sawyer is heading to junior college, per 247Sports’ Wes Mitchell (h/t TheBigSpur.com):

The news should come as no surprise, as academics were always a concern with the Suwanee, Ga., native. However, South Carolina liked him enough that it was willing to take the risk.

Unfortunately, the game didn’t pay off, as Sawyer—who recently received his GED—is set to enroll at East Mississippi Junior College in Scooba, Miss., today.

Back in December, the former North Gwinnett High standout brought a smile upon the faces of the Gamecocks coaching staff when he committed. He chose South Carolina over offers from other top schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU.

Ironically, Sawyer noted academics as his reason for choosing the Gamecocks.

“I picked them because of the school,” he said immediately after pledging, via Al.com’s Mike Herndon. “They have one of the top business schools, which is what I want to major in. It opened my eyes seeing everything they have to offer.”

Sawyer will be able to enroll with the Gamecocks next spring and will have four years to finish his three years of eligibility.

The No. 5-ranked defensive end in the nation, Sawyer was expected to make an immediate impact in South Carolina’s defense next season. He was supposed to make the loss of defensive linemen Jadeveon Clowney and Kelcy Quarles a lot more bearable.

Instead, the pressure will now fall on 4-star defensive tackle Dexter Wideman and 3-star defensive end Blake McClain to come in and compete for those roles.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats, rankings and recruiting information courtesy of CFBstats and 247Sports.

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