South Carolina Football: Gamecock freshman changing positions

South Carolina football signed a number of players in the class of 2023 that have significant positional flexibility.

5-star Nyck Harbor will play wide receiver for the Gamecocks, but because of his history as an EDGE player in high school, the rumors surrounding him rushing the passer will continue until the day he declares for the NFL Draft.

Vicari Swain, Kelton Henderson, CJ Adams, and Judge Collier were all listed as an athlete by at least one major recruiting service. Swain and Collier will begin their careers as defensive backs, while Henderson and Adams will play wide receiver, though their roles will be starkly different.

Even players like Grayson “Pup” Howard and junior college signee Elijah Davis could shift positions depending on what the scale reads.

Arguably the most positionally-versatile player in the class, though, was Alabama native Kamron Sandlin.

Sandlin played all over the field for his high school team in Anniston, Alabama. As the best athlete on the team, he played quarterback and had the majority of the offense centered around his abilities.

Because he likely is not a natural choice to stick as a quarterback, the South Carolina football staff had planned to move the 6’3″, 220-pound athlete to tight end to play a similar role to former Gamecock tight ends Jaheim Bell, KC Crosby, and Keil Pollard.

Now, that appears to be changing. According to a report from Payton Titus of The State, Gamecock running backs coach Montario Hardesty announced that Sandlin will begin his college career in the running back room.

The move makes sense for Sandlin as his best trait in high school was his running ability. With good enough speed to run past slower players and enough size to run through smaller defensive backs. Sandlin will be the biggest back in the running back room in 2023, so he could potentially carve out a role in short yardage situations if things go well for him.

You can watch some of his film here.