Why latest South Carolina football commit follows recent Gamecocks recruiting trend
South Carolina safety commit Zahbari Sandy didn’t intend to play two different secondary spots at the high school level. That’s just how his career has shaken out of late.
Sandy played more nickel than anything as a junior last fall at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. But when the Cadets lost a starting cornerback for the season early in the year, he filled in the role the rest of the game. Sandy never shifted back to nickel.
“You’re going to see a guy that’s physical, interceptions, tackling, smack-talking, everything,” Sandy said of how he’d characterize his game. “I’m a baller. It’s what I do. You’ll see it on the film.”
Sandy became the first of the Gamecocks’ 2023 commits to go public with their pledges when he announced his decision last Sunday. His commitment also marks the latest addition in a growing line of versatile defensive backs head coach Shane Beamer and his staff have landed in parts of their first two recruiting cycles.
“When we recruit we try and recruit corners and then we are trying to recruit safeties, because, in our mind, they are different,” Beamer said at a Gamecock Club event in Anderson. “But when you’ve got a guy that is interchangeable and can do multiple things that certainly, you know, we need that right now.”
Whether by design or not, South Carolina has added a slew of players possessing positional versatility over the last recruiting cycle-plus.
The Gamecocks signed six players classified as safeties by 247Sports in the 2022 class. Of those, Irmo’s Nick Emmanwori, three-star defensive backs Anthony Rose, Peyton Williams and four-star prospect Keenan Nelson all have varying degrees of flexibility. Florida native Kajuan Banks projects as a nickel, but could also find himself in a handful of different roles.
Sandy, too, profiles like those players given his experience at cornerback and nickel.
The three-star defensive back has the size at 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds to match up with bigger receivers and tight ends, while his basketball background gives him, at least in part, an athletic ability to run with most receivers.
“I‘m a versatile DB,” Sandy explained. “... I’ve got the size for safety. I’ve got the speed for corner. I’ve got the feet — everything. In college I’m really looking forward to playing whatever gets me on the field first, wherever the coaches want me to play.”
Beyond versatility, Sandy’s commitment is another boon for Beamer and his staff in their attempts to establish a recruiting corridor between the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area and Columbia.
South Carolina is, geographically, the closest SEC school to the region that has 12 players rated four-stars or better and 22 players in the top 500 of the 247Sports Composite class of 2023 rankings.
The Gamecocks have dipped into the area over the last handful of years via running back MarShawn Lloyd, who played at Maryland powerhouse DeMatha, Delaware products Braden Davis and Debo Williams and Pennsylvania natives Ryan Brubaker and Nelson.
Sandy marks the latest coup on that front, while the Gamecocks have made a run at five-star D.C. product Nyckoles Harbor and have offers out to 22 players from the region in the 2023 class.
“It’s difficult, because a lot of really good players in the state of South Carolina either stay regional, or they leave the state for high school and their recruitment kind of turns into a real national battle,” Adam Friedman, Rivals’ national recruiting analyst and rankings director, told The State last year. “So it’s important for South Carolina, obviously, to recruit the Southeast — Georgia, Florida, those nearby states.”
It’s not altogether clear what position Sandy will stick at once he arrives in Columbia for the 2023 season, but playing time should be up for grabs.
Safety R.J. Roderick and Central Michigan transfer Devonni Reed will both graduate after the 2022 season. One-time Washington State import Tyrese Ross will have one more year of eligibility after next fall, though it remains to be seen how heavily he’ll be relied on in the rotation in 2022 and down the line.
Cornerback Cam Smith and nickel David Spaulding should also have NFL decisions to make after the 2022 season.
But those are issues to resolve a year from now.
Sandy still has one more high school season to play. He’ll take his official visit to South Carolina between June 24 through 26, he said.
At his current rate, he might even add another position to his repertoire by the time he lands on campus.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Why latest South Carolina football commit follows recent Gamecocks recruiting trend."
