South Carolina Football: Gamecocks officially land underrated tackling machine

The Early Signing Period for college football began on Wednesday, and National Letters of Intent have been flying in from all over the country. While most of those NLIs are not sent in via fax machine anymore, commitments are not official until paperwork is completed. The South Carolina football program is hoping to have most of their class secured by the end of the Early Signing Period.

One of the players in the class who made things official is 3-star safety David Bucey.

Position: S/LB
Recruiting Ranking: 3 stars (consensus)
Measurables: 6'0"; 200 pounds
Former Player Comp: Sharrod Golightly

David Bucey is an underrated prospect in the class of 2024. South Carolina football's coaching staff offered Bucey this summer and picked up an almost immediate commitment. The do-it-all high school star for Savannah Christian is expected to play safety for the Gamecocks.

In his high school career, Bucey has played linebacker, safety, running back, wide receiver, and quarterback. His seamless versatility shows something about his mental capabilities and football IQ. Because of that, his move to safety full-time shouldn't be difficult as long as he can be fast enough to be in an SEC secondary.

As a high school linebacker, he has been a tackling machine, and when he has the chance, he has been a hard-hitter in the middle of the field, as well. South Carolina's safeties are asked to help out in run support a lot, something that (theoretically) should fit right into Bucey's skillset.

As a player, David Bucey is similar to former Gamecock Sharrod Golightly. Golightly was a tweener who found a home at the spur position. Bucey is a little bit taller than Golightly, but both players are safeties who love to come up and hit ball carriers near the line of scrimmage. Golightly eventually earned an All-SEC bid on a good defense, an outcome that David Bucey and South Carolina football fans would like.

Bucey won't play early at South Carolina (unless it's on special teams) as he needs some time to develop. He hasn't spent a lot of time as a safety, and he needs to work on his speed. If he can get a step faster and get used to the position, he could find himself in the 2-deep in a couple of years.

You can watch some of his film here.