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The Final Cockdown continues its look at the defensive line. In case you missed it, here’s a list of everyone we’ve profiled/are profiling:
Dante Sawyer | DJ Wonnum | Daniel Fennell | Taylor Stallworth | Keir Thomas | Ulric Jones | Javon Kinlaw | Kobe Smith | Shameik Blackshear | Aaron Sterling | Brad Johnson | Aaron Thompson
#91 Shameik Blackshear
RS-Sophomore / 6’5” / 253 / Bluffton, S.C. / Bluffton
South Carolina’s 2015 recruiting class drew a massive amount of hype, and even us here at GABA were all in on it. It was ranked 20th in the country by 247Sports and the crown jewel of it all was Bluffton edge rusher Shameik Blackshear, who with his size and dawning the No. 7 in high school gave SC fans dreams of Jadeveon Clowney dancing in their heads.
However, much like the 2015 football season, Blackshear’s career has been disturbed by some back luck. He was caught in a frightening shooting incident in his first season on campus that left him wounded, and missed most of spring because of it. He had already taken a redshirt his first year for injury issues and played sparingly in 2016.
There are reports coming out of campus that Blackshear has made strides and looks to be a legit contributor on the defensive line this season. If he can finally live out his potential, he could be part of the cure to the missing SC pass rush.
Select highlight: Here’s Blackshear’s senior year since this is the most relevant highlight we have.
2016 Stats: 2 tackles, 1.5 TFL
Recruitment: Four-star; offers from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Louisville and South Carolina. Committed to the Gamecocks on May 24, 2014.
Next Up: Aaron Sterling, a three star recruit who’ll be fresh to campus this fall.