Personally, I like the direction the USC program is taking regarding in-state recruiting. Why not give the local kids a shot? It can't hurt anything (especially if they already have academic scholarship help or are willing to try it out as an invited walk-on or true signee).
There is already a bevy of quality National/Regional players on this team and in this recruiting class, so I see no reason why USC cannot augment their current roster with some in-state players.
Are you saying that South Carolina does not produce enough of that quantity? I, sincerely, disagree. It's been missing a long time for the college programs and I am glad that the College of Charleston (first) and South Carolina (second) have incorporated that process into their schemes.
Is Daniel Lynch, Ross Power, or Luke Berson getting money initially? I don't know, but I suspect you don't either. From my understanding they were good high school students and good soccer players with successful high school and club programs. Good for them! Why be bitter? If they can contribute for "book money" or less, then so be it. If they earn more in future seasons, then that is great! Otherwise, they may concentrate on being a college student -- last time I looked there was no crime in that mannerism!
I'm sure Danny Cates is receiving some dough, because he had a choice of collegiate programs to choose from -- why diminish that the others are "signed"? At 9.9 scholarships for men's soccer, I would be as frugal as possible with in-state players unless they are truly "on top of the world" -- but that being said, I would make an earnest effort at recruiting these folks, because this state has proven at the prep level to be the equal of others that are perceived as better.
I'll tell you this, as Director of the Palmetto Cup hosted by Brookland-Cayce High School, I see first-hand the best prep players that are available from top programs from around the country. If any collegiate program could hand-pick one or two from those four-year classes each year, then "recruiting" would not be that difficult!
Good luck to those NCAA D1 and D2 players, along with the JUCO and D3 signees -- enjoy the game as long as possible and upwards mobility is always possible!
SIDENOTE -- If they can contribute for "book money" or less, then so be it.
My cousin, Kip Bouknight -- who graduated from Brookland-Cayce HS in 1997 and the University of South Carolina in 2001 -- received "book money" with the Gamecocks his first two years despite compiling 18 wins at USC on the mound for the highly successful Carolina baseball team. A bunch of his teammates 'earned' a lot more those seasons and up until his junior year. Luckily for Kip, he was a solid student and an above average athlete. His junior season saw him post a 17-1 record and he won the college football equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, the "Golden Spikes Award". Instead of leaping for Major League Baseball with a year left in school, Kip opted to spend his senior campaign at Sarge Frye Field and led USC to a second-straight NCAA Super Regional -- the Gamecocks lost both series 2-1 to Louisiana-Lafayette and Stanford, respectively. Since then, he's pitched in the Minor Leagues since 2001 and is with the Reading Phillies (PA - AA) this year. He's living a dream with a chance still to reach the "Big Leagues".
