Shaq Davidson’s HS coach: Change of scenery will help former USC receiver
Former Gaffney High star Shaq Davidson is transferring from South Carolina without ever playing a down for the Gamecocks. His high school coach, Dan Jones, believes a change of scenery will be good for the receiver.
Davidson arrived at USC as a four-star prospect with high expectations, but due partly to injuries, he was unable to live up to them.
He redshirted his first year in Columbia, looking to add muscle to be able to withstand the physicality of playing receiver in the SEC, but prior to his redshirt freshman season he tore his ACL for a second time. He also suffered a torn ACL as a sophomore at Gaffney.
According to Jones, Davidson will finish up this semester at South Carolina before transferring. USC coach Will Muschamp will help Davidson find a new home.
“It’s been a string of injuries and setbacks for him, but I think Shaq, after he finishes up this semester, he’ll be looking for a fresh start,” Jones said. “Coach Muschamp said he’d make sure he rehabs his knee and he’d help him as far as finding another place to play.”
Davidson had offers from several ACC and SEC schools coming out of high school, but ultimately chose the Gamecocks over Tennessee and LSU. He played receiver as a sophomore in high school before leading the Indians to a state championship as a quarterback his junior season. He played quarterback for the Indians his senior year as well.
Jones said as a sophomore, it was apparent that Davidson was special.
“He was the guy that you throw the screen to, he’d make two guys miss and go 75 yards. When you tried to stop that, he was also the guy that could beat you deep,” Jones recalled, adding that a torn ACL late in his sophomore campaign hobbled him somewhat moving forward.
“I’m not sure at that time he ever got back to being as dynamic as he was as a 10th grader,” Jones said. “But he was still in high school, better than everybody else. He won ballgames for us just one play after another.”
Jones has already had several schools, mostly at the FCS level, call to inquire about Davidson. He plans to sit down with him at some point and find out if he would rather transfer to an FBS school and sit out a year, or drop to a lower level and play immediately.
No matter what Davidson decides, Jones is confident he can still be successful.
“How about Thomas Davis with the Panthers? He was able to come back from several injuries. It certainly is doable; he’s just got to decide what he wants to do,” Jones said. “It’s something he can bounce back from. That’s certainly what we’re hoping he’ll do, and we’ll do anything we can to help him along that path.”