Inside the commitment: Kelvin Hunter
Some guys are just “ball players” and that’s what South Carolina is getting in the Gamecocks’ newest commit, Florence (S.C.) West Florence four-star DB Kelvin Hunter.
And, in my opinion, that’s one of the best compliments you can pay an athlete.
Turn on Hunter’s film and you’ll see him flying through the line to block punts, sprinting down the field covering kickoffs and punts, and blitzing off the edge on defense as a physical but sure tackler while also contributing on offense at running back.
On3 Director of Rankings Charles Power — whose opinion I respect a ton — likes to say that when you’re evaluating safeties that you’re sort of just looking for guys who are just straight up good players.
That may seem like a captain obvious statement but a lot of the evaluation at other positions involves quite a bit of projection to the next level.
That’s not necessarily the case at safety where you’re looking for the guys that have instincts to be around the ball a lot, are physical at the point of attack, and just naturally make plays. In other words, don’t overthink it. And much like Jalon Kilgore in the last class, Hunter is that type of player.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have SEC traits too because he definitely does. At a camp last year, Hunter ran a 4.40 40-yard dash and a 4.25-second shuttle.
Hunter does have position versatility too — something South Carolina covets — and is someone who could ultimately play corner, nickel or safety but South Carolina primarily has him in that nickel/safety category and I love his skillset as a future nickel.
The one thing his film doesn’t show a ton of is him in coverage (either in man coverage near the line or dropped back into a deep zone as a safety) and that will certainly be a determining factor in whether he’s a nickel or safety.
But with his experience playing near the line of scrimmage, his physicality at the point of attack, and his willingness to throw his body around, I think he’s the perfect nickelback and his testing numbers are indicative of someone who will have the athleticism to handle the man coverage responsibilities fo that position as well.
Additionally, I love the fit of Hunter with what Shane Beamer and Co. are trying to build in that he seems to play at top speed at all times and has a knack for making game-changing plays.
He also loves special teams and Pete Lembo will likely love coaching him.
As for his recruiting process, for the majority of it, we’ve felt like it was more of a matter of “when” Hunter would end up in the Gamecocks class rather than “if.” Spending time with the entire 2024 class at the spring game seemed to help seal it.
He did at one point plan to take some OVs, and if there was a school in second place it was probably Virginia Tech.
They did a good job recruiting him, to be sure, but it’s hard to beat out a childhood dream…
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