DE Taeshawn Alston ready to make his call with #Gamecocks one of the final three

DE Taeshawn Alston (6-4 217) of Henderson, North Carolina will announce his college commitment Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. at his high school. His plan is to have some of his teammates with him and share the announcement on Instagram. He’s choosing between South Carolina, North Carolina and Rutgers, the three schools he officially visited this month.

Alston has made numerous visits to USC over the past two years for camps, games and junior days. He said his official visit in early June went very well and he spent a lot of time talking with head coach Shane Beamer and defensive coordinator Clayton White.

“When I went there, Coach Beamer and Coach White, they were a wonderful group,” Alston said. “The staff in general and the coaches are all great and care about their players. The most important thing about them is that they will make sure that the players are good and that you are good. Being with the players was great. Hanging out with the players and learning about South Carolina was awesome.

Alston only played in seven games last season and recorded 27 tackles and five sacks. Some see him as an edge player in college, and others like him as an outside linebacker. The Gamecocks could use him either way.

“They look at me as a hybrid guy on the field,” Alston said. “Sometimes I can play to the advantage. Sometimes I can be like Bam Scott and play linebacker. I feel like the way they use their defense, they evolve into it. The way they use their linebackers, the linebackers are free, the outside backer is free. Sometimes they rush, sometimes they are in coverage. They have a good defensive system.

Alston has had numerous conversations with Beamer about the recruiting process, and the Gamecocks coach has a direct message for him.

“I’m an SEC guy and he thinks I would be a wonderful player at South Carolina,” Alston said. “He thinks I would have a great career at South Carolina. He likes the way I move. With Beamer and I, we talk about life situations and stuff like that. He likes everything about me.

After his visit to USC, Alston visited Rutgers the following weekend. He was in North Carolina last weekend for his final official visit.

“It was good. The coaching staff was wonderful,” Alston said. “We were talking and going on and talking about life. I had a meeting with coach Ted Monachino and we talked about it. was great.”

Alston will now have a few days to make his final decision, and he said he will judge programs based on the factors that are most important to him.

“I would say great staff, great academic school and caring coaches,” Alston said. “I would say the most important things are the academics and the coaching staff.”