Zacch Pickens delivers more good news for South Carolina defense in 2022
The good news continues to flow in Columbia.
Defensive tackle Zacch Pickens announced on Monday via Twitter he intends to return to South Carolina for a fourth season with the Gamecocks.
“Dear Gamecock nation... I’m back!!!” Pickens wrote in a graphic.
The former five-star recruit was potentially weighing an entrance into the NFL draft. Pickens was rated the No. 8 player in the country in the class of 2019, according to the 247Sports Composite.
The T.L. Hanna product played all 13 games for the Gamecocks in 2021, recording 38 tackles, five tackles for a loss and four sacks. Pickens has recorded at least 35 tackles in each of the last two years at South Carolina and notched 16 tackles during his freshman campaign.
Pickens’ announcement comes less than an hour after linebacker Brad Johnson disclosed that he, too, will be back for the Gamecocks in 2022.
South Carolina has now had four defensive players announce their return in Pickens, Johnson, linebacker Sherrod Greene and safety R.J. Roderick.
The Gamecocks defense ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in pass defense and sixth in total defense under the guidance of first-year defensive coordinator Clayton White.
USC capped off head coach Shane Beamer’s first season with a 7-6 record and a 38-21 victory over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last week.
