Newly hired head football coach Will Muschamp is known as a great recruiter, but one of the most important players on his radar this offseason was not a high school senior or even a junior college transfer.
The football program received some of its best news of the Muschamp era last Thursday when star linebacker Skai Moore decided to return to school for his senior year. His return has been greeted with arguably the most enthusiasm of any offseason move since the hiring of “Coach Boom,” as Muschamp is known, on Dec. 7, and for good reason. Moore was the best player on the defensive side of the ball in 2015, leading the team with 111 total tackles (37 more than the next highest player) and four interceptions.
“I don’t ever recruit a guy to come back," Muschamp said. “We wanted to make sure he wanted to be here.”
The new coaching staff has been hitting the recruiting trail hard since taking over last month, but with the exception of Jamarcus King, a junior college transfer who has committed to the Gamecocks, the most noise has been made bringing in players on the offensive side of the ball. Moore's return to the team will provide a shot in the arm to the Carolina defense that no other player could. Moore is a versatile linebacker, with the skills to fill the hole and stop the run as well as cover speedy slot receivers as they cross the middle of the field. However, Moore’s size might limit his NFL potential at that position. Listed at 6-foot-2, 218 pounds, his size and height make him slightly shorter than the average NFL linebacker and a few dozen pounds lighter than most players at that position. This has raised questions about whether Moore would change positions in the league from linebacker to safety.
Moore and the coaching staff are clearly aware of these things, and the possibility of a position change might have played a role in his returning for one more year.
“I think in our regular personnel packages I see him as a possible safety,” Muschamp said.
Moore even included the hashtag “#BigSafety” in his Instagram post that announced he was coming back to school.
Good football players find ways to impact the game no matter what position they are playing on the field, so the position change is not cause for concern. Moore demonstrated his versatility and his high football IQ this past year as he switched midseason from strong side linebacker to weak side. The jump from linebacker to safety will be a more challenging one, but who better to make the switch than Moore? Expect Moore’s total tackles number to go down, although Isaiah Johnson did have the second most tackles on the team last season while playing safety. Moore will still have plenty of chances to hit the other colored jerseys. Playing safety also gives him a chance to eclipse the school record for career interceptions of 14, since Moore already has 11.
Moore is the only returning player on the Gamecock defense that has demonstrated the ability to win games almost single-handedly. For example, the Gamecocks could have easily lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels last season had it not been for Moore’s 11 total tackles and two key interceptions. With a young defense and a new scheme, look for Moore to lead, especially early on in the season. The Carolina defense may go as Moore goes, and that is much better than what it would have been if Moore had entered the draft.