Early Congrats to Akeem Davis-Gaither

[AppStFan1]

He is getting an invite to the Senior Bowl. This is no shock at all. I would think Josh Thomas, Des Franklin, Jordan Fehr, and Victor Johnson might get something from Shrine, NFLPA, CGS, or Hula.

[fjblair]

Right on. Three of those guys on the watch list.

[Mjohn1988]

ADG put on a show last Saturday night. Dude would not stay blocked. If the NFL guys came to Columbia to see any USC players Akeem stole the spotlight from them. I hope he can stay that motivated for 4 more weeks.

[Black Saturday]

AKD has a real shot at playing on Sundays next year.

[asucrutch23]

What am I missing with "AKD"? Shouldn't it be ADG?

Congrats to Akeem! Well deserved.

[AppStFan1]

AKD put on a show last Saturday night. Dude would not stay blocked. If the NFL guys came to Columbia to see any USC players Akeem stole the spotlight from them. I hope he can stay that motivated for 4 more weeks.

I'm told 3 teams were there.

[AppStFan1]

AKD has a real shot at playing on Sundays next year.

He definitely will be. Buzz is that scouts have him in the 4th-6th round.

[Mjohn1988]

What am I missing with "AKD"? Shouldn't it be ADG?

Congrats to Akeem! Well deserved.

Yep, got it sort of backwards

[ASU3432Mi]

Wow. Gonna be tough to replace these Seniors next season.

[AppStFan1]

Wow. Gonna be tough to replace these Seniors next season.

I'm not putting the group down because I will miss them but we are already seeing that their replacements are going to be studs. At DT we got Blackstock, Earle, an injured player returning, and someone redshirting. At LB we lose 3 guys but look at the backups in Hampton, Bird, Doublin, Jackson, Hellig, and Brown. Huff, Ross, and Smith will replace Franklin and Thomas. We have others who are redshirting as well. We may lose 6 defensive starters but we are going to be very good with the new starters being just as fast and athletic. Our 3rd string safety had the pick 6 and we played a ton of guys on defense last weekend. We are going to be fine. The depth we have for a G5 team is amazing. I bet our entire 2nd string defense would be All-SoCon and some would make All-SBC if they started. They are very good.

[HighPointApp]

[appstatealum]

Well deserved. He is an outstanding young man and perhaps has been our best LB for the last two seasons. I’ve loved watching him play.

[AppStFan1]

Well deserved. He is an outstanding young man and perhaps has been our best LB for the last two seasons. I’ve loved watching him play.

He is a really good player. So fun to watch. South Carolina could not block him when he blitzed. His only major negative is that he is undersized. He has good length and height but he does not have the frame to add a lot of weight. I wonder if he will be a safety or linebacker in the NFL? My guess was hybrid safety but I'm sure with all the schemes out there people have differing opinions.

[TomA415]

has this been officially announced?

[ericsaid]

He is getting an invite to the Senior Bowl. This is no shock at all. I would think Josh Thomas, Des Franklin, Jordan Fehr, and Victor Johnson might get something from Shrine, NFLPA, CGS, or Hula.

Thomas and Johnson have a shot at the Senior Bowl as well, I'd think. Thomas started the year out questionable with some philosophy changed but he really has picked it up. Appears to be in a position on the defense where if you aren't as noticeable, it's a good thing.

[bigdaddyg]

Shaq Thompson is listed at 6'0" and 230. Akeem is listed at 6'2" and about 216. Surely he can added 10 pounds at least. The difference is marginal at that point. It will just probably come down to making plays, especially on special teams and in the right defensive system he could thrive.

[ericsaid]

Well deserved. He is an outstanding young man and perhaps has been our best LB for the last two seasons. I’ve loved watching him play.

He is a really good player. So fun to watch. South Carolina could not block him when he blitzed. His only major negative is that he is undersized. He has good length and height but he does not have the frame to add a lot of weight. I wonder if he will be a safety or linebacker in the NFL? My guess was hybrid safety but I'm sure with all the schemes out there people have differing opinions.

Think Kam Chancellor, obviously not as big but the ideal of a third safety/linebacker remains the same. He could probably add weight to his lower half in the league giving him more drive to take on running plays. But I'd expect he could play well as a big nickel safety.

[AppStFan1]

He is getting an invite to the Senior Bowl. This is no shock at all. I would think Josh Thomas, Des Franklin, Jordan Fehr, and Victor Johnson might get something from Shrine, NFLPA, CGS, or Hula.

Thomas and Johnson have a shot at the Senior Bowl as well, I'd think. Thomas started the year out questionable with some philosophy changed but he really has picked it up. Appears to be in a position on the defense where if you aren't as noticeable, it's a good thing.

My NFL connect said only Gaither for Senior Bowl. He thought Thomas should go Shrine for sure and has a real small shot at Senior but doubted it. This is supposedly a real good safety class.

[AppStFan1]

Shaq Thompson is listed at 6'0" and 230. Akeem is listed at 6'2" and about 216. Surely he can added 10 pounds at least. The difference is marginal at that point. It will just probably come down to making plays, especially on special teams and in the right defensive system he could thrive.

Gaither is thin hipped and has small calves and legs. Does not have the frame to get up to 230 comfortably I would think. He is suppose to be around 205-208 right now. If that is indeed true then my guess is 220 is his max. He does not have a wide frame but he is explosive, fast, and a sideline to sideline guy. If I'm right and he can't bulk up to 230 range then I do think he could at least be a safety.

[appstatealum]

Shaq Thompson is listed at 6'0" and 230. Akeem is listed at 6'2" and about 216. Surely he can added 10 pounds at least. The difference is marginal at that point. It will just probably come down to making plays, especially on special teams and in the right defensive system he could thrive.

Gaither is thin hipped and has small calves and legs. Does not have the frame to get up to 230 comfortably I would think. He is suppose to be around 205-208 right now. If that is indeed true then my guess is 220 is his max. He does not have a wide frame but he is explosive, fast, and a sideline to sideline guy. If I'm right and he can't bulk up to 230 range then I do think he could at least be a safety.

Right. He has a lean frame, but does not lack a lot of strength. He is already in great shape and I would agree that he would have trouble adding significant weight. With an NFL SC program, he could really become a talented S/LB hybrid in the NFL. He has great instincts and technique plus really good people around him.