It seemed lately to be more of a question of when and not if four-star OL Zack Bailey would ultimately commit to the Gamecocks before he decided to ultimately go public with his pledge today. The question here was whether or not Bailey would maybe take a final visit to UGA this season or finalize his decision before the season as he was being encouraged to do (and ultimately wanted to do).
As we've mentioned many times in the last several weeks, South Carolina had been in the best position for the in-state offensive lineman. Some people read far too much into him visiting Clemson for their cookout last month and Bailey not making the Gamecock Showcase, as USC still had the edge even after that. Although the Tigers gave him something to think about on his visits that he took this year, it was still Clemson playing catch-up to USC's lead and one that the Gamecocks never really relinquished since the beginning of this year.
The bottom line here is that Shawn Elliott deserves a ton of credit for landing Bailey. In talking with sources along the way, the main things that really drew Bailey to South Carolina were his relationship with Elliott and the opportunity to be coached by him and then the chance to play in the SEC as well. Bailey was sold that South Carolina gives him a great chance to play at the next level and his rapport with Elliot is very strong. Elliott and running backs coach Everette Sands both recruited Bailey (Sands is the area recruiter for Summerville).
Bailey has excellent size for his position and is a physical road-grader type of player. I personally think his best fit is probably going to be on the interior of the line, but as I said earlier he could play either in Columbia.
As we've mentioned many times in the last several weeks, South Carolina had been in the best position for the in-state offensive lineman. Some people read far too much into him visiting Clemson for their cookout last month and Bailey not making the Gamecock Showcase, as USC still had the edge even after that. Although the Tigers gave him something to think about on his visits that he took this year, it was still Clemson playing catch-up to USC's lead and one that the Gamecocks never really relinquished since the beginning of this year.
The bottom line here is that Shawn Elliott deserves a ton of credit for landing Bailey. In talking with sources along the way, the main things that really drew Bailey to South Carolina were his relationship with Elliott and the opportunity to be coached by him and then the chance to play in the SEC as well. Bailey was sold that South Carolina gives him a great chance to play at the next level and his rapport with Elliot is very strong. Elliott and running backs coach Everette Sands both recruited Bailey (Sands is the area recruiter for Summerville).
Bailey has excellent size for his position and is a physical road-grader type of player. I personally think his best fit is probably going to be on the interior of the line, but as I said earlier he could play either in Columbia.
