Former South Carolina football star returns home as head coach

One of the most popular players from the heyday of South Carolina football (the height of the Steve Spurrier era) was wide receiver Ace Sanders. An underrated prospect out of the state of Florida, Sanders had prototypical "Florida quickness" but was overlooked by some because he was small.

The Gamecocks didn't overlook Sanders, and his work ethic, toughness, and unique skillset helped propel him to a great career in garnet and black as he became an excellent receiver and, arguably, the best punt returner in school history.

Those traits helped Sanders become an NFL Draft pick, and now, the former Outback Bowl MVP will be looking to build up young players on the gridiron.

According to a report from the Bradenton Herald's Jason Dill, Ace Sanders is returning home to become the next head coach at Bayshore High School. Sanders went to Manatee High School (also in Bradenton) and will replace the outgoing Jamaal Sanders as the new leader of the Bruins program.

During his South Carolina football career, Sanders was a nightmare for opposing defenses to try to tackle as he had make-you-miss-in-a-phone-booth elusiveness. In his three years in Columbia, he had 99 catches for just over 1300 yards of offense and 13 receiving touchdowns. He also returned three punts for scores in his career.

In his junior year (his last), Sanders was at his best. He had career-highs in catches (45), receiving yards (531), and touchdowns (9) that season and had his best game in the Outback Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.

He was even better as a returner, breaking the South Carolina football record for punt return yardage in a season (429) and two of his three punt return scores. One of those punt returns came in the 35-7 beatdown of the fellow top-10 Georgia Bulldogs in what is considered one of the loudest moments in Williams-Brice Stadium history. The other came in that MVP performance in the Outback Bowl as one of his three touchdowns on the day.

In 2012, Sanders made the All-SEC team twice as the 1st team punt returner and a 2nd team all-purpose performer.