Another athletic defender announces commitment to South Carolina football program

South Carolina football defensive coordinator Clayton White and his staff of assistant coaches have seemed to have a clear "type" on their recruiting board this offseason. The Gamecocks have targeted (and landed) several hybrid linebacker/EDGE prospects this recruiting cycle.

Heading into Monday, the Gamecocks had received pledges from players like 4-star Anthony Addison, 3-star Jaiden Braker, and 3-star Taeshawn Alston, all of whom are hybrid linebackers/defensive ends. More traditional linebacker AJ Holloway and more traditional EDGEs Jaquavious Dodd and Kobby Sakyi-Prah are also part of the 2025 version of the South Carolina football recruiting class.

The class has some other players who are adjacently related to the front-7 as 4-star athlete Jaquel Holman is set to start his career at linebacker, and even 3-star tight end commit Preston Douglas is a converted defensive end.

On Monday, a similar style of player joined the Gamecocks' haul in the '25 cycle as 3-star Havelock, North Carolina product Donovan Darden revealed his commitment to the Gamecocks.

Darden is the team's third pledge from the Tar Heel State, a notable feat considering the fact that Nick Barrett (a rising senior) is the last high school product to sign with the South Carolina football program out of the Palmetto State's northern neighbor.

Darden is rated as a defensive end by all four major recruiting services, but he is expected to factor into both the linebacker and EDGE rooms during his Gamecock career. As a high school junior, he spent most of his time playing as a stand-up EDGE, but he has put his hand in the dirt some as an end, stepped off the line of scrimmage at linebacker, and even split out into the slot as a nickel player.

A good athlete, Darden will join the Gamecocks as a player with tons of potential. He will need some physical development, but as a player with a good combination of natural size and speed, he could see the field early as a coverage player on special teams units.

If things go well for Darden in garnet and black, he could develop into a very interesting player in Columbia.

You can watch some of his film here.