Look: Hayden Hurst shows off skills with acrobatic one-handed grab in practice

South Carolina’s veteran football players went about 20 days between practices before getting back on the field Tuesday.

Junior tight end Hayden Hurst showed no ill effects of the layoff.

An observer tweeted a video Tuesday of Hurst holding off what appears to be Steven Montac with one hand and snatching a touchdown catch with the other. Then for dramatic effect, he slings the ball high in the air to celebrate.

Hurst announced two weeks ago he’ll forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

Hurst, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior who joined South Carolina as a walk-on after spending two years in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system, is the Gamecocks second-leading receiver with 41 catches for 518 yards and two touchdowns. He also has seven carries for 37 yards and one touchdown this season.

He plans to play in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 when South Carolina (8-4) faces Michigan (8-4) in Tampa, Fla., at noon, according to a source.

Hurst was named first-team All-SEC. He is one three tight ends in school history with more than 1,000 career yards receiving, joining Jared Cook and Danny Smith, and he was a semifinalist this year for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight end.

Hurst has 97 catches for 1,240 yards in his three years with the Gamecocks. That leaves him 96 yards shy of the Smith’s school record for 1,336 yards by a tight end. Hurst already holds USC’s single-season records for catches (48) and yards (616) by a tight end. He set both of those marks last season.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Look: Hayden Hurst shows off skills with acrobatic one-handed grab in practice."