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South Carolina football 2014 preview: Deon Green

The twice-redshirted sophomore tries to break his way into the starting lineup in his fourth season in Columbia.

By ChickenHoops
Deon Green enters his redshirt sophomore year low on the depth chart but with a chance to break through
Deon Green enters his redshirt sophomore year low on the depth chart but with a chance to break through

Deon Green 
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle
6'4", 285
Windermere, Fla.

Recruitment:
Deon Green came to Carolina as a three-star defensive tackle rated the 65th-best defensive tackle in the 2011 class.  

Other offers:
Arkansas, Cincinnati, Duke, FIU, Illinois, Louisville, N.C. State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, Virginia

College Career:
Green redshirted in 2011 due to a knee injury that required surgery.  In 2012, he received a second redshirt season as he continued to rehabilitate his knee from .  In 2013, he only recorded statistics in the Gamecocks' 70-10 shellacking of Coastal Carolina, where he accrued two solo tackles against the Chanticleers.

2014 Outlook:
Green finds himself third-string on the defensive tackle depth chart, behind starting redshirt junior J.T. Surratt (whose TFC is here) and redshirt senior Phillip Dukes, as well as Gerald Dixon Jr. and Kelsey Griffin (whose TFC is here).  Such is the depth of the South Carolina defensive line that there are numerous upperclassmen holding down the middle of the line, which prevents younger, talented defensive linemen from seeing significant action until later in their careers.

Trivia:
Green received over 20 offers, and narrowed down his choices to Ole Miss, Penn State, UCF, and South Carolina, before deciding to join the Gamecocks.  Green had ties to Columbia - he lived in nearby Bowman, SC prior to moving to Florida before his freshman year of high school.  He won the most improved defensive linemen award this spring, so perhaps he can break into the line-up earlier than expected.  

He also finds his status as a fourth-year sophomore pretty funny:

I implore you to take a minute and study his glorious Twitter profile photo.

Beat writer's terrible game-winning lede:
Given his status as a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, folks that follow the Gamecocks may start to think that the brightest green is not neon green, but Deon Green.

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