Breaking down Rick Sandidge's commitment to South Carolina

There wasn’t much suspense involved in Rivals100 prospect Rick Sandidge’s commitment. The Concord, N.C. has been favoring South Carolina for months and now has announced he is signing with Gamecocks. Georgia and North Carolina were the two other finalists.

IN HIS OWN WORDS…

“I felt at home at South Carolina,” Sandidge said. “The coaches and I have a really good relationship and there is still space for us to grow. I’m hoping the coaches can teach me more things about playing defensive tackle and defensive end and I want them to help me develop in everything.

“I have a good relationship with some of the players and recruits that enrolled early,” he said. “We I talk about how it's going to be when I get there, what practices will be like, what the coaches are like when you get there, and things like that.”

WHY IT’S BIG FOR SOUTH CAROLINA…

The Gamecocks have been trying to upgrade their defensive line over the past couple recruiting classes so the addition of Sandidge is a big one for South Carolina. The family connections Sandidge has to South Carolina really helped the Gamecocks here and it should pay dividends on the field. Sandidge is very explosive out of his stance and has a natural aggression that puts offensive linemen on their heels. His violent hand techniques help him break free of offensive linemen and allow him to make a lot of plays in the backfield. Sandidge is already very strong but the strength and conditioning staff will make sure Sandidge is ready to play as soon as possible so don’t rule out Sandidge contributing at some this season.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE PROGRAMS THAT MISSED OUT…

Georgia and North Carolina worked hard to get Sandidge to sign with them but their efforts weren’t enough. The Dawgs signed three other interior defensive linemen and is seems as though they were happy with who they got. Look for the Dawgs to sign defensive linemen of Sandidge’s caliber in the 2019 recruiting class. North Carolina knew they were fighting an uphill battle with Sandidge and knew they weren’t going to sign many defensive linemen in this class but they made sure to continue to try to sign him because he is a major in-state prospect.