Greenville wide receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. is popular on social media. Across his X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram accounts he has more than 33,000 followers.

So when the four-star prospect and fourth-ranked player in South Carolina's Class of 2024 — with offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida and others — decided to flip his commitment from Tennessee to South Carolina, a lot of noise came his way online.

"There's so much that goes on in the recruiting process that people don't see," Bennett said. "When it came to that decision, there was a lot of backlash for a long time. Honestly, there still is."

On the Instagram post announcing his commitment, there were over 16,000 likes and 335 comments. On X, the announcement has over 850,000 views and 281 comments. Regardless of how highly touted a recruit is, most 17-year-olds would struggle to navigate that level of attention.

Bennett was no different, but what helped the No. 1 player on 864Huddle's Dandy Dozen list get through this roller coaster of emotions was having his mother to lean on.

"My momma just said, 'Put the phone down, put your head down, and go back to work,'" Bennett said. "Her message was to remind me that at the end of the day, I'm the one that has to play ball. I'm the one that has to keep performing, the one that has to show up ... so don't listen to all that noise."

'She's my rock'

Daffany Bennett, Mazeo's mother, conceded she struggled with the negativity her son was receiving.

"When he made the choice to go to Carolina our family was ecstatic," she said. "Now, the backlash, on the other hand, which was basically like people on social media being mean to him, I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't prepared for him to go through that. As a parent, you want to try to protect your kids from all the negativity, but with social media that's so hard to do."

That feeling never reached the dynamic receiver who accumulated 1,683 total yards and 23 touchdowns last season. To Mazeo, his mom's guidance was paramount.

"The whole recruiting process is stressful, and I just feel like my mom doesn't get enough credit for keeping my head on straight throughout," Bennett said. "She kept me level-headed when it became stressful. She's my rock."

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Trust your gut, lean on God

One of the ways Daffany Bennett guided her youngest son through this moment — and really his entire life — was to hammer home this piece of advice: "In whatever you do, follow your gut," Mazeo Bennett said.

"Every time I leave the house, man, my mom always tells me, 'Son, I love you, be safe and just follow your gut.' ... Her biggest message to me has always been that if I trust my gut and put my mind to it, I can do whatever I want with my life," he said.

For Daffany Bennett, trusting your gut starts with leaning on God.

"Always lead with prayer and pray to God that he directs your path," Bennett said. "When you do that, your gut will lead you in the right direction. And what I mean by your trusting your gut is going with what makes you happy, that thing that puts butterflies in your stomach ... doing those things that make you happy, keeps those butterflies in you. So when you trust your gut and that feeling, you end up doing the right thing."

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That advice guided Bennett through the backlash after flipping his commitment and also helped him make the initial decision to trade in the Vols for the Gamecocks.

"When I made my decision to commit to Tennessee, telling South Carolina that I wasn't going to come ... was probably like the biggest heartbreak ever, to tell (wide receivers) Coach (Justin) Stepp personally that I couldn't go at that moment was really hard," he said. "But while I was committed to Tennesse and started to feel like I wanted to change my mind, my mom just kept telling me to trust my gut."

He added, "I just felt unhappy with that decision. It just wasn't the place for me anymore. I knew in my gut that South Carolina was home, so I just did what my momma always told me and followed my gut. I knew South Carolina was where I wanted to be."

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: South Carolina football landed Mazeo Bennett thanks to mother's advice