K.C. Crosby takes aim at bigger role with Gamecocks

K.C. Crosby declared his offseason and summer of weight room and conditioning a success.

Now he’s hoping to stand out among a group of tight ends all competing to complement senior Jerell Adams.

“The only thing that makes me different is I’m probably a little shorter than the rest of them,” Crosby said. “Other than that we’re on the same playing field. I have to keep working hard and competing with the tight ends and show that even though I’m not 6-5, 6-4, I can still compete with everybody else.”

At 6-foot-1, Crosby, who starred at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High, is the shortest of USC’s seven tight ends. Adams and redshirt freshman Jacob August are listed at 6-foot-6.

The height question has always been motivating for Crosby. And though he says his blocking has improved, a goal that continues to fuel Crosby is to have the ball in his hands.

“That’s still the main mindset,” he said. “I want to become a playmaker.”

Crosby broke his foot last summer and redshirted. Knowing he wasn’t going to play, he said he focused more on developing his body. He was awarded a weight room honor from USC coaches after the spring.

Heading into this week, the tight ends were not working off a depth chart, Crosby said, only rotating in and out. Six have been participating in practice, with freshman Connor Redmond sidelined with a back injury.

Crosby, like all of the tight ends, has had reps at the “H” spot.

“It is more of a fullback but not necessarily lined up behind the quarterback,” he said. “I can be a wing. I can be an inside receiver. I can be the fullback. It is a way to get me moving around.”

Crosby takes advantage of not being far from home and visits family and friends as often as he can. He still plays the drums at Savannah Creek Baptist Church in Ehrhardt when he’s home.

Back at USC, he said his goal is to help the Gamecocks any way possible.

“Our goal is to come out of camp healthy with the most knowledge of the game and plays that we can,” he said. “Every day is a competition. We encourage each other to make each other compete. That makes all of us better.”