South Carolina athlete verbally commits to Southern Miss

Southern Miss received a verbal commitment from Aiken, S.C., athlete Tancey Richardson on Sunday.

The 5-foot-10, 178-pound Richardson plays running back and defensive back at South Aiken High School.

Richardson told the Sun Herald Sunday that he chose USM because he believes it's a "great program."

"It's a school that's underrated and I feel with the talent that the coaches are recruiting we will make Southern Miss even better," he said.

Richardson, who is being recruited by Southern Miss defensive line coach Derek Nicholson, has also received interest from Charlotte, North Carolina State and Coastal Carolina.

Richardson plays running back and defensive back at South Aiken High School.

Richardson, who is also a track standout at South Aiken, is the third verbal commitment for USM in the class of 2017, joining Hartz and Franklin, Tenn., kicker Brent Cimaglia.

Richardson plans to visit the USM campus on April 9.

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 1:29 PM with the headline "South Carolina athlete verbally commits to Southern Miss ."