A good fit: Athens DB Zay Brown commits to Gamecocks

Zay Brown didn’t know he’d pick up an offer when South Carolina invited him to a football camp in June. He went with the mindset of working his hardest to earn one.

He got one, and Saturday made it official that he’ll join the growing cadre of defensive backs in South Carolina’s 2017 recruiting class. He announced his commitment as part of the Gamecocks’ Elite Day cookout.

Brown, from Clarke Central High in Athens, Ga., will join a position that coach Will Muschamp and the Gamecocks are rebuilding. The stout safety didn’t take long to fall for the school.

“When I went up there, I knew I wanted to go there,” Brown said. “But it was just a matter of time of how long I wanted to wait. I was talking to (Clarke Central coach David) Perno and all the coaches, other players and stuff. They were like, ‘It’s a good fit.’ They think I should do it. I talked to my grandmother. She said she prayed about it. She thinks I’d be good going there.”

He said the coaches told him he’ll have a chance to play early, and the depth chart seems to support that. Three of USC’s top five safeties are seniors, few are proven and one is also listed as a starting cornerback.

Brown is a 6-foot, 180-pounder who had 78 tackles and six interceptions in 2015. He said he has played deep and in the box for Clarke Central, though he was more heavily used closer to the line of scrimmage and his coach said he can even play linebacker on the high school level.

“We felt Zay was a good player and there wasn’t enough SEC schools really on him,” Perno said. “And when Will came in, we talked and he watched his film and then Zay went over to a camp. And things worked.”

South Carolina has 18 commitments for the 2017 class. All four of the Gamecocks’ defensive back pledges are from evaluations made at Muschamp’s June camps.

This story was originally published July 23, 2016 at 6:56 PM with the headline "A good fit: Athens DB Zay Brown commits to Gamecocks."