SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Newly enrolled freshman Shilo Sanders may be the son of one of the best defensive backs of all time, but he was recruited to South Carolina for reasons other than the fact that he's Deion Sanders' son.

The younger Sanders, one of three freshman defensive backs who moved in at South Carolina last week to go through Maymester, brings a tremendous amount of upside to the position, according to head coach Will Muschamp.

"I think he's got really good ball skills," Muschamp said. "He's an outstanding baseball player. He's got really good top-end speed and finish speed, a really good transition as far as coming out of breaks. He can track the ball, he can finish on the ball down the field."

Sanders, who was dropped off in Columbia by Deion last Wednesday, did not play a lot of organized football throughout his childhood, despite his famous father. Listed at 6-foot, 186-pounds, Sanders should have plenty of room to grow as a player now that he's in a structured, major college football program.

"He's really only played two years of high school football," Muschamp said. "This guy's not played a bunch of football before. He was more of a baseball guy coming up. I just think he's got a huge upside moving forward. He gets in the nutrition, he gets in the weights, really looking forward to seeing him continue to progress."

An Under Armour All-American at Trinity Christian High School in Texas, Sanders helped the Tigers to a perfect 14-0 season and a state championship as a senior.

Sanders played cornerback, receiver, punter and kick returner as he recorded 19 tackles and five interceptions as a senior. On offense, he had 13 catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

At South Carolina, he'll have the opportunity to dial in on one position. Sanders will start his career at cornerback, though he also has the ability to play some nickelback, and could help on special teams.

He joins a secondary that's young and talented, but currently lacks depth, meaning Sanders and his fellow freshmen will have every chance to prove they can help this season.

"We told them in the recruiting process and they're figuring out right now, we weren't lying," Muschamp said. "... They're going to have plenty of opportunity to step on the field in front of 80,000 people and play for South Carolina. We think that we've recruited a really good corps of defensive backs. I think they're really talented. How quickly they'll mature and come in and step into the process of being able to play in front of 80,000 people, we'll see."