Golson still has USC on wish list

COLUMBIA -- After weighing other options this week, in the wake of some lingering questions regarding his high school transcript, Calhoun County linebacker prospect Brandon Golson will continue pursuing a college career at South Carolina.

Golson will enroll in a prep school, as a handful of Gamecocks do each summer, with the intention of being on campus in January. Greenwood defensive end Kelcy Quarles, a highly regarded prospect, also intends to go the prep school route.

The 6-2, 204-pound Golson was rated the state's 22nd-best player by Rivals. ESPN.com said Golson was a four-star recruit, the No. 15 outside linebacker prospect in the country.

In February, Golson signed his intention to play for South Carolina, intending to join former high school teammate Alshon Jeffery with the Gamecocks.

The transcript the school received in March, though, had some notations on it that were questionable. Grades in three classes were questionable.

USC asked for more information, files from Golson's academic record, but were told nothing of subsequence was available.

At that point, South Carolina wanted to avoid even the possibility that grades were altered.

Golson is technically eligible, according to both the NCAA and USC's standards. However, an NCAA investigation likely would have followed after the red flags on the transcript were reported to the NCAA.

Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier recently granted Golson his release, believing, in the end, he would end up ineligible no matter where he enrolled.

Golson, through advisers, had reached out to other schools, including Arkansas and Kentucky in the SEC. The Big East's Louisville and Conference USA's East Carolina were also options.

The Gamecocks, though, continued to urge Golson to consider going to a prep school. The team reasoned that there was no guarantee, even if Golson was admitted to, say, Arkansas or Kentucky, that he would play right away.

If he redshirted, the Gamecocks said, it would be no different than if he went to prep school and then arrived at USC in January.

Ultimately, sometime Wednesday afternoon, Golson and those advising him relented. He told the school he would still be a Gamecock, after a prep school stint.

This situation was never to be confused with what happened two summers ago, when Wadesboro, N.C., receiver Michael Bowman and Jacksonville, Fla., defensive back Arkee Smith were denied admission to USC after initially being told their grades were permissible.

That led Spurrier to openly rip USC's admissions policies and caused the school to address the way it processes and allows special admits.

In this case, the Gamecocks were working to protect themselves by asking for more academic information -- information that couldn't be provided. Golson was never purely denied admission to USC based on grades or test scores, compared to the NCAA's standards.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com, check out the Gamecocks blog at postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks and follow him on Twitter (@gamecocksblog).