When a player announces his commitment at a ceremony during the Early Signing Period, most people expect a signing announcement from the school to soon follow. It did not happen in the case of 5-star DE Jordan Burch, who announced his pledge to South Carolina on Wednesday. The Early Signing Period has now come and gone (Wednesday-Friday) and Burch has not signed with the Gamecocks.

According to Burch’s head coach at Hammond, it’s all about waiting to sign alongside his teammates.

“I think Jordan and (fellow USC commit Alex Huntley) value signing with their teammates, and to me that’s a reason they decided not to sign early,” Hammond coach Erik Kimrey told David Cloninger of The Post and Courier.

Burch may not be wavering on his commitment, but that won’t stop other schools from trying to change his mind. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren reports that Alabama, Georgia and LSU have been in contact with Burch, still recruiting him. If Burch had submitted his National Letter of Intent to South Carolina, no other team would be allowed to contact him. VanHaaren’s report also references the teammate signing, with a source indicating that the Gamecocks coaching staff “is still feeling good” about keeping Burch committed through National Signing Day in February.

The Columbia, South Carolina native is ranked the No. 1 recruit in the state, No. 2 strong-side defensive end and No. 5 prospect overall nationally for the 2020 class on the 247Sports Composite. An Under Armour All-American, Burch’s most recent visit was to UGA on Dec. 14. He was also visited by Kirby Smart (Dec. 12) Nick Saban (Dec. 9) this month.