On Friday night, the No. 1 defensive end in the 2019 class gave South Carolina the news it was hoping for. Five-star recruit Zacch Pickens gave his verbal pledge to Will Muschamp and the Gamecocks.

But apparently not everyone could read the tea leaves ahead of Pickens’ announcement following T.L. Hannah’s spring game.

Apparently Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who had hoped to land a commitment from Pickens, was on hand for the announcement.

FOX Carolina’s Aaron Cheslock was there to get a picture of Venables on the sidelines:

Awkward.

With Pickens on board, South Carolina moved all the way up to No. 7 in the 247sports 2019 class rankings, which narrowed the gap with No. 4 Clemson.

Venables might have gotten bad news about the No. 1 recruit in the state of South Carolina, but there was a bright side.

At least he only had a half hour drive back to Clemson.