South Carolina Football: A look at every 5-star recruit in program history; Two are in this year's class!

South Carolina Football's All-Time 5-Star Recruits:
Defensive Tackle Zacch Pickens (Class of 2019)

There is one South Carolina football 5-star who found his way to Columbia from Clemson's backyard. TL Hanna (Anderson, South Carolina) defensive tackle Zacch Pickens spurned the rival Tigers to join the Gamecocks in the class of 2019. In fact, many Clemson staffers were in attendance at TL Hanna's spring game to watch Pickens commit to the Gamecocks.

The big defensive tackle played pretty well for three seasons in Columbia, but it was his senior campaign that earned him an eventual 3rd-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. His overall numbers looked very similar to his junior season, but he was much more impactful as a player who stuffed the middle of the line, allowing for his teammates to make plays around him.

Thanks in part to Pickens' efforts, players like Jordan Burch, Gilber Edmond, and Tonka Hemingway had their best seasons up front for the Gamecocks. On the back end, USC produced two NFL Draft picks at corner (Cam Smith and Darius Rush) and two Freshman All-Americans at safety.

While the numbers didn't quite look like many (unfairly) expected from a 5-star player, Zacch Pickens was a good player for the Gamecocks who also represented the South Carolina football program very well.