COLUMBIA, S.C. _ One of the most anticipated college football announcements in the country was finally revealed Wednesday.
Hammond defensive end Jordan Burch picked South Carolina during a nationally-televised announcement in front of friends, classmates and media at Fawcett Gymnasium. Burch picked South Carolina over Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and LSU.
"I love the coaching staff," Burch said. "I love the people here in town. I don't think I could have made a better decision."
It was the biggest football announcement the Palmetto State has seen since Jadeveon Clowney announced on Feb. 14, 2011 that he was headed to South Carolina. Burch originally planned to announce his choice Thursday but moved it up a day to be a part of ESPN's signing day coverage.
Burch's choice was one of the best-kept secrets, similar to when basketball star Zion Williamson surprised many in the Palmetto State with his choice of Duke in January 2018. The Hammond senior did few interviews the past two years and rarely posts on social media.
Asked if he considered other schools, Burch said yes.
"At some point, I did," Burch said, "while I was searching for schools with my mom, but I came to the conclusion that this is the place for me."
Burch was joined on stage by his mother Henri, grandparents, several friends and family as well as his Hammond coaches and administration.
"They said it was my choice, whatever I feel," Burch said. "So we sat down and prayed about and found out that this was the best decision for me."
Burch wasn't expected to sign his letter of intent Wednesday but it was already known that he wasn't going to enroll at his school of choice in January. The early signing period wraps up Friday. If Burch doesn't sign by then, he would have to wait until the traditional signing period, which starts Feb. 5, to sign his National Letter of Intent.
Burch will continue to play basketball for the Skyhawks.
Burch and his mother didn't answer questions from the media other than the ones asked by ESPN on the TV broadcast. But Burch's coaches and teammates spoke glowingly of the 5-star prospect.
Hammond coach Erik Kimrey, a former South Carolina quarterback, called Burch's announcement a 'great day for South Carolina" and thought the way Burch and his family handled his recruitment 'refreshing.'
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Burch entered the week as No. 5 by 247Sports Composite (factoring in all rankings), No. 5 overall by ESPN and No. 8 by Rivals. He is the highest ranked prospect from the state of South Carolina since Clowney was No. 1 in the country in the Class of 2011.
Burch will play in the Under Armour All-American game next month in Orlando, Fla. Many recruiting experts think he has a good shot of playing in the NFL.
247Sports' Charles Power compares Burch to San Diego defensive end Joey Bosa, while 247Sports' Steve Wiltfong compares him to Jeffrey Simmons, who played at Mississippi State and is now with the Tennessee Titans.
"He is a guy who is a multiple and could have played all 22 positions at Hammond," Wiltfong said. "He is a top-10 guy. And those guys, they have the whole bag. They have the flexibility, body control, power and stout at the point of attack. You hope he blossoms to the first-round pick we think he was. We think he is that good."
Burch played his freshman season at Wilson in Florence before moving to Columbia and attending Hammond during the summer before his sophomore year. He was part of three SCISA Class 3A championship teams and helped bring unprecedented notoriety to the already-storied program.
Hammond appeared on ESPN2 for this year's season opener against Southern Columbia (Pennsylvania) in a matchup that featured Burch and fellow five-star prospect and Ohio State commit Julian Fleming.
This season, Burch led the team in sacks and accounted for more than 20 touchdowns this season. He had two touchdown runs in the championship game.
South Carolina is "gonna get a hard worker," Burch said, "a kid who doesn't take plays off. I'm going to encourage my teammates. And I'll play as hard as they need me to play, or better."
