Name: Antoine Wilder
Position: Safety
Height/Weight: 5'11, 175
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Rating: 247Sports: Three Star Rivals: Three Star ESPN: Three Star
Wilder has been another quiet prospect through the recruiting season, but is poised to join the Gamecocks this fall. He selected the Gamecocks over offers from the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Louisville Cardinals. His primary recruiter is listed as Lorenzo Ward, with Grady Brown listed as the secondary recruiter.
Strengths:
The first thing you notice about Wilder is that he does posses a goo bit of speed. He uses this speed to be able to make huge hits all over the field. Much like JUCO safety Toure Boyd, Wilder is a head hunter. He often flies to the ball and just knocks the ball carrier off his feet. He shows the ability to be useful in both pass defense and run defense. Despite being only 175 pounds, he is able to leverage his strength to get off blocks and find the running back.
Weaknesses:
The biggest problem that I have with Wilder is that because he dos tend to go fro the big hit, he doesn't display proper technique when tackling. He usually uses his momentum to simply knock into the ball carrier, and as we saw last season from our defense, that doesn't usually work in the SEC. Another issue is that he is really light for a safety. While he is only an inch or two short of having ideal height for a safety, he only weighs 175. He will likely need to be around 200 pounds if he really wants to be able to compete against bigger receivers and running backs.
Overall:
Wilder is a decent prospect, but is not slated to be one of those immediate impact type recruits. He will likely be behind Boyd, Chaz Elder, T.J Gurely and others while he tries to learn the defense. Due to this fact, Wilder will likely redshirt and see the best chance for playing time in 2016.