Former Mauldin star Dre Massey has USC on top
Dre Massey thought he would have the opportunity to play at South Carolina coming out of Mauldin High, but his grades kept that from taking place.
He ended up at Holmes Community College in Mississippi and kept faith that he would eventually get a chance to play for the Gamecocks.
The offer to play at Carolina finally came this weekend as USC wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. offered Massey on Sunday. It was an offer Massey had been hoping to get for a long time.
“Their coaches told me they had been watching me since high school. They offered me out of high school but took it back when they found out my grades weren’t going to be good enough. I knew sooner or later they would find me,” he said. “They came down here and visited me last week. They spent a lot of time with my coaches and told them the offer should be official in a week or so. It got official Sunday.”
Massey finished his sophomore season at Holmes and put up impressive numbers. In nine games he had 59 carries for 452 yards and three touchdowns and 21 receptions for 548 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 26.1 yards per catch and 7.7 yards per carry.
Massey said he takes pride in being able to make big plays.
“I have play-making ability and bring excitement, just being able to make people miss in the open field,” he said. “And I have a chance to score any time I have the ball.”
He also is being recruited by Florida, Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Memphis, Cincinnati, Illinois and Cal. Massey said all of those schools have offered except Alabama and Ole Miss.
He is not releasing a top five until around Thanksgiving but said South Carolina sticks out.
“They’re my favorite as of now. I’m looking at them pretty hard,” he said. “I’m taking my official visit the 14th, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Massey said there are several reasons why South Carolina is currently at the top of his list.
“It would be close to home and my family would be able to come see me play. I like how they use Pharoh Cooper, and I like the idea of us being on the field at the same time,” he said. “And the crowd, the crowd is crazy. I love it when they play ‘Sandstorm’ and come out through the smoke and everything. It would just be an exciting place to play, and I’ve always wanted to play against Clemson.”
Massey had one of the most remarkable high school seasons in South Carolina history his senior year at Mauldin. He passed for 2,793 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for 2,043 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Still, he said spending time at junior college has helped him get his priorities straight.
“Off the field wise I got more focused mentally and took care of the most important thing, which is grades,” he said. “You can’t play without grades.”
Massey said he has become a better football player at Holmes.
“It helped me improve my game and got me a lot tougher and a lot stronger. I gained a lot of weight and got a lot bigger,” he said.