With each passing day, it looks like the chances of Rick Sandidge landing at South Carolina increase. The Charlotte-area DT, ranked as the #11 player at his position in the class of 2018, continues to have the Gamecocks high on his list.
Now the rising senior is cutting his list of finalists little by little. Sandidge’s top seven last night had South Carolina in it, as expected.
‼️Top 7‼️ pic.twitter.com/l6nsd741lp
— J® (@rickyo_90) August 8, 2017
SB Nation recruiting analyst Alex Kirshner had a chance to watch Sandidge twice recently: first at a camp and then at The Opening finals at the Nike campus in Oregon.
He was among the three or four best defensive linemen at both events. Sandidge bursts out of his stance so quickly after the snap, and he moves with such force, that offensive linemen can’t do much about him. He’s a dominant prospect who clearly enjoys burying his opponents. If Sandidge does what the experts expect and chooses South Carolina, he’ll be an enormous addition in more ways than one.
For context, there was quite a strong list of DLs at The Opening: Clemson commit Xavier Thomas and Ohio State pledge Taron Vincent. Kirshner adds that despite Sandidge’s recruiting ranking, he actually may be better than those projections.
Sandidge told The State’s Matt Connolly that South Carolina will stay at the top of his list. He also gave North Carolina a nod: “Those are the ones that are always going to be in there regardless...They recruited me early and kept on recruiting me.”
It’s clear that the South Carolina staff is extremely high on Sandidge and what he can bring to the table. And barring a major turn of events, all signs appear to point to him in Columbia next year.