Zacch Pickens reveals the two reasons he returned to South Carolina

South Carolina defensive lineman Zacch Pickens had the opportunity to move on from South Carolina during the offseason and go to the NFL. He chose to stay, though, and help the Gamecocks build for the future under Shane Beamer.

While speaking to the media, Zacch Pickens explained that there were two basic reasons why he chose to return to South Carolina. The first was Jimmy Lindsey, the team’s defensive line coach. The second was that he also wanted to make sure he graduated from South Carolina before moving on.

“Coach Lindsey has meant everything,” Zacch Pickens said. “He was kind of the second reason why I came back because he saw the potential I had and he’s always got something new for me. Something to try, something that he knows I could do. We start doing stuff on the board and let me get used to that. Trying to bring up formations and really just being that, being a great coach to me.”

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Coach Lindsey may be the second reason why Zacch Pickens came back, but Pickens wanted to make it clear that he came back to get his degree first and foremost.

“Graduate. I knew if I didn’t get that graduation that I probably wouldn’t have come back. And, I definitely had to get that. Make sure Mama happy. That’s the only thing. I wanted Mama to be happy. I had to get it.”

Zacch Pickens wanted to graduate

One thing that Zacch Pickens has made clear is that he wanted to graduate before he moved onto the NFL. It’s something he has spoken about before.

“I knew if I would’ve left, I wasn’t going to come back,” Zacch Pickens said. “So, it’s better to get it now while I have the resources that I have right now to graduate. And I’m almost there.”