South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer dropped two #WelcomeHome tweets on Tuesday, which meant the Gamecocks tripled their commitment list. Heading into the day, only wide receiver Jayden Sellers had announced a pledge to USC.
Between Beamer's first and second announcements, the first commitment came forward. 4-star wide receiver Brian Rowe revealed that he would be bringing his talents to Columbia, joining Sellers in the wide receiver room.
During most fans' lunch hours on Wednesday, the second commitment also went public as in-state defensive back Damarcus Leach made an announcement on his personal Twitter/X account.
110% a gamecock🤙🏾 @GamecockFB @KwameAgyeiMinta @CoachSBeamer @togray14 @YoureNextTrain1 @CoachWash4 pic.twitter.com/RUVC8XvWMT
— Damarcus Leach (@Damarcus_Leach) April 10, 2024
Damarcus Leach is from Abbeville, South Carolina and has spent most of his high school career as a safety. However, in a way that is probably intriguing to the Gamecock coaching staff, Leach has played a lot of snaps walked down into the box as a nickel corner/outside linebacker.
Leach is a long athlete (he plays power forward for the Abbeville basketball team, too) who has good instincts when the ball is in the air. His best trait, though, is his tough tackling ability. The 6'3" 3-star is not afraid to come downhill and hit somebody, often separating receivers from the football or dropping ball carriers where they stand in the open field.
Though he is best suited as a run-support safety who can play over the top as a "center field" type of player in zone coverage, Leach isn't opposed to playing man coverage, a role he has played at times in the slot. He also is comfortable blitzing off the edge, something South Carolina football defensive coordinator Clayton White likes to do.
Leach has spent a little bit of his high school career lining up at running back or receiver, but his future at the college level is as a defensive back.
You can watch some of his film here.