South Carolina shores up secondary with transfer from Georgia Southern
South Carolina football’s depleted secondary got a little help from the transfer portal Thursday, as former Georgia Southern defensive back David Spaulding announced his commitment to the Gamecocks.
Spaulding, a native of Riceboro, Georgia, played two seasons for the Eagles, redshirting in 2019 before appearing in eight games this past year. He recorded seven tackles, a pass breakup and an interception in that time, taking that pick for a touchdown against Appalachian State. He possesses good length at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds.
As a high schooler at the Bradwell Institute, Spaulding was considered a three-star prospect, rated as the 118th best cornerback in his class in the 247Sports composite ratings. He also held offers from Duke, Boston College, App State and Cincinnati.
Coming to South Carolina, Spaulding will reunite with one of his high school teammates: Gamecock running back Kevin Harris also attended the Bradwell Institute.
Spauling’s arrival will also be crucual for a South Carolina’s defensive backs room that has been hit hard by departures as of late — juniors Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu, the team’s starting cornerbacks, declared for the NFL draft, while starting safety Jammie Robinson and key rotation players John Dixon and Shilo Sanders have all entered the transfer portal. Junior safety R.J. Roderick opted out late in the 2020 season after coach Will Muschamp was fired and has not publicly declared whether he will return or not.
In addition to Spaulding, new head coach Shane Beamer has signed two junior college defensive backs in the 2021 recruiting class — Isaiah Norris and Marcellas Dial, both from Georgia Military College.
Spaulding is the second transfer from the state of Georgia to commit to USC and Beamer this offseason, joining former Georgia Tech wide receiver Ahmarean Brown.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 12:13 PM.
