South Carolina has received a commitment from a graduate transfer at a position of need.
Shane Hynes of Kent State will transfer to South Carolina for his final year of eligibility. Hynes was 9-of-15 this season for Kent State with a career long 48-yarder against Louisville.
Hynes received his “permission to contact” from Kent State midway through the 2017 season and reached out to South Carolina almost immediately.
“I heard that there was a little bit of trouble with field goals,” Hynes said. “I know
Parker White did a phenomenal job with kickoffs. I thought I would reach out to Coach Hutzler and I maintained a relationship with him and Coach Muschamp. The Monday before Thanksgiving, I got a call from Coach Muschamp and he wanted me to come in and be their kicker. I knew right then exactly where I wanted to go.”
(Photo: Scout.com)
Hynes visited South Carolina earlier this week before announcing his decision on Twitter on Friday.
In 2016, Hynes made 15 of 22 kicks, including six from 40 yards or more. He was also 28-of-28 on extra point attempts last season. As a redshirt freshman, he was 7-for-11 making him 31-of-48 for his career. He is 55-of-57 for his career on extra points.
“I knew there was an opportunity at South Carolina,” Hynes said. “Parker, myself and Woz (
Alexander Woznick) will all push each other to be the best that we can be.”
The connection to South Carolina came from an unlikely place. Hynes trains with Clemson commitment
BT Potter as the two have the same kicking coach. The two have stayed in contact and it was Potter who let Hynes know South Carolina’s kickers were struggling to make their field goals.
“Me and BT are good friends,” Hynes said. “He’ll always say the score of this year’s game to me whenever I say something to him, but hopefully we turn that around. He’s a good kid with a bright future over there, but I look forward to beating him next year.”
The first time that Hynes, a Clarkston, Mich. native, was ever in the Palmetto State was earlier this year when his team faced Clemson. He was 1-for-1 in the game connecting from 37 yards out. He has family in Fort Bragg, N.C., but that’s as close of a connection to South Carolina as he has.
Penn State was the other primary school recruiting Hynes, but what attracted him to South Carolina is the same thing that brought him to Kent State four years ago.
“The reason I went to Kent was beyond the facilities and the football,” Hynes said. “It was the people at the University and the connections I made there, and that’s why I’m coming to South Carolina. It’s not the facilities or traditions, it’s the people at the University. The wins and losses fade but the relationships you build and connections you make, those are some things you carry for the rest of your life.”
What attracted South Carolina and special teams coordinator
Coleman Hutzler to Hynes is his ability to be clutch.
In five road games against Power 5 competition, Hynes was 5-for-8, which included 3-for-4 from 40-plus yards. The only miss was a 54-yarder against Penn State. One of his other misses was blocked at Illinois his freshman year. As a junior, he was 1-for-1 against Clemson and 1-for-1 with a career long 48-yard kick against Louisville.
“The thing the coaches at South Carolina told me they’re most impressed with is my ability to be clutch,” Hynes said. “I never missed in the fourth quarter at Kent. I hit a game winner, two kicks in overtime last year and a field goal to send us into overtime against Marshall a couple of years ago. I don’t let the big stage get to me. I’m a very confident person and I think they like that. I expect to make every kick and I expect the most out of myself.”
Hynes also made a pair of 40-plus yard attempts as a sophomore in overtime against North Carolina A&T. His freshman year, he made a field goal against Marshall late in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. His game-winner came against Central Michigan from 35 yards out as time expired.
Hynes will graduate from Kent State next week but will take classes there in the spring. He will enroll at South Carolina in the summer as a walk-on with the plan to be placed on scholarship when classes begin in the fall.
