Jordan Burch signed NLI with South Carolina, but the door to LSU isn’t forever closed

2020 LSU football recruiting target Jordan Burch officially signed his National Letter of Intent with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Five-star defensive lineman Jordan Burch left the door open to LSU as long as he could, but he has finally signed his National Letter of Intent with South Carolina according to the Gamecocks’ official Twitter account.

Burch didn’t sign with South Carolina during the early signing period and he didn’t sign on Wednesday, which gave LSU some hope they could still flip the Columbia native.

While it certainly appears that Burch was torn between LSU and South Carolina, ultimately he chose to remain close to home.

However, just because Burch signed with South Carolina on Thursday, doesn’t mean the door to LSU is completely shut.

In fact, it wouldn’t shock me if the five-star defensive lineman eventually ends up in Baton Rouge.

LSU is one of top programs in the country right now. South Carolina is a program in the midst of a rapid decline.

The Gamecocks have regressed in each of the past two seasons. South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp is squarely on the hot seat entering the 2020 season.

And with Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky seemingly on the upswing in the SEC East, it’s hard for me to imagine Muschamp keeping his job beyond next season.

If/when Muschamp is fired, will Burch enter the transfer portal?

It’s unwise to speculate on what Burch would or wouldn’t do in that situation, but I couldn’t stop thinking on Thursday about the possibility that he would bolt from South Carolina if Muschamp is fired.

The Gamecocks barely received Burch’s signature this week. Will they be able to keep him when the program goes through an inevitable transition?

There’s a lot of “ifs” that have to happen, but I can certainly see a scenario where Burch transfers to LSU.

After all, it’s becoming a pretty common thing in college football these days.