‘It’s like home.’ Greenville High teammates, Gamecock commits shine in campus return
A lot has changed for Mazeo Bennett and Blake Franks in the time since they last attended a South Carolina football camp.
A year ago, the two Greenville High School teammates were uncommitted recruiting prospects who were on the radar for Shane Beamer and his coaching staff. The Gamecocks were in the middle of their pursuit of Bennett, the Greenville receiver, when he attended last year’s 7-on-7 camp at USC with his teammates.
As for Franks, the Greenville High offensive lineman, he picked up a Gamecock offer when he attended the Gamecocks OL/DL camp.
This year, it was more of a homecoming for the two players when they attended those same camps Thursday at USC’s practice facility. Bennett committed to the Gamecocks in February after initially picking Tennessee a few months before. Franks committed to USC on March 31, picking the Gamecocks over in-state rival Clemson as well as Alabama, Auburn and Florida.
“It was great being able to be back home with my guys and compete the way we did today. I felt super comfortable to just go play my game and do my part,” Bennett said after the camp.
The two are part of a large in-state commitment group for the Gamecocks’ Class of 2024. Five of the 10 announced commitments are from the state of South Carolina.
Bennett made several dynamic plays throughout the 7-on-7 games, including one for a touchdown against Camden with receivers coach Justin Stepp in attendance. Stepp and other USC coaches, including Beamer, were spotted at Greenville’s games throughout the day.
The Red Raiders made it to the championship game Thursday before losing to South Pointe, a team they beat in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs last year. After the game, Stepp put his arm around Bennett as the two headed back toward Greenville’s sideline.
“He was just telling me there’s no doubt about who the best receiver in the country was after today,” Bennett said. “He just told me to keep my head up because at the end of the day we are going to see them (South Pointe) again.”
While Bennett was busy catching passes, Franks spent half of the day working across the street at Williams-Brice Stadium in the OL/DL camp before watching his teammates finish the 7-on-7 tournament. The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder went through all the drills and battled against top defensive players at the camp, including Grimsley (N.C.) High’s Bryce Davis.
Franks also spent time with new offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley, who replaced Greg Adkins in that role. Adkins moved into an off-the-field position for USC and also was in attendance Thursday.
“It feels good to be here with teammates and such a good vibe. It’s like home,” Franks said. “I basically did everything over there and got some extra reps with Coach Teasley. We worked on some fundamentals and just how they do things here from what I am used to doing.”
It won’t be long before the teammates return to USC’s campus. Both are taking their official visits to Gamecocks next weekend.
After that, Bennett and Franks will continue to get ready for their senior seasons in which they both hope ends in a state championship appearance. Greenville made it to the Upper State finals last year before losing to state runner-up Northwestern.
“Goals for senior season is to win state. I couldn’t care less about stats because they will come as we win as a team,” Bennett said.
South Carolina football 2024 commits
July 2, 2022: QB Dante Reno — Windsor, Conn.
Jan. 22: OT Kam Pringle — Dorchester, SC
Jan. 24: TE Michael Smith — Savannah, GA
Jan. 27: LB Wendell Gregory — Marietta, GA
Feb. 3: WR Mazeo Bennett — Greenville, SC
March 31: OL Blake Franks — Greenville, SC
April 14: OL Josiah Thompson — Dillon, SC
April 19: DB Kelvin Hunter — Florence, SC
April 19: CB Braydon Lee — Upper Marlboro, MD
June 12: P Mason Love — Riverside, Missouri
