South Carolina football recruiting profiles: Chris Hatfield
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his coaching staff have less than a month before National Signing Day. (Remember when recruits signed in February?) The Early Signing Period begins Wednesday, December 4th, and the majority of teams’ high school recruiting classes will be completed by the time the Early Signing Period ends on Friday, December 6th. In the weeks leading up to NSD, GamecockCentral will profile each player in the 2025 recruiting class. Today, we will look at defensive back Chris Hatfield.
Chris Hatfield (3-star, Defensive Back, 6’2.5″, 205 pounds)
What the rankings say: 3-star in On3 industry rankings, No. 1153 nationally, No. 127 in Georgia, No. 100 among all safeties; Chris Hatfield is a consensus 3-star prospect
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Chris Hatfield is an intriguing player in the Gamecocks’ current class of 2025 haul. According to On3, he is 6’2.5″ and 205 pounds, but he claims he is now 6’4″ and certainly looks bigger on film than his listed size. Like many South Carolina defensive backs before him, he has an impressive combination of size and speed.
Positionally, On3 lists Hatfield as a safety, and that likely will be where he plays in college. However, of the four major recruiting services, two classify him as a safety, while the others call him a cornerback. The Georgia native has played both spots for his Long County squad.
Physically, Hatfield shares some resemblance to some safeties currently on the South Carolina football roster. Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray’s unit has five safeties at the top of the depth chart (Nick Emmanwori, DQ Smith, Peyton Williams, David Bucey, and Gerald Kilgore) listed between 6’0″ and 6’3″ and over 200 pounds. Starting nickel Jalon Kilgore (who began his career at safety) also is 6’2″ and 219 pounds.
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With starters Emmanwori and Smith on their way to the NFL and/or graduation over the next two seasons, the Gamecocks will need some inexperienced players to step up at the safety position. Hatfield and other young secondary players will have opportunities to earn their way into the mix.
As a player, Hatfield has a lot of upside. He is rangy and is extremely comfortable holding down the back end of a defense. However, Hatfield has no problems coming up in run support or using his size to play physically when the ball is in the air. He also showcases some natural abilities with the ball in his hands on interception returns, something that is likely aided by his experience playing some receiver and quarterback for Long County.
Hatfield is joined in the South Carolina recruiting class by fellow defensive backs Kendall Daniels and Damarcus Leach. He is also one of three current Gamecock pledges from the Peach State. Linebacker AJ Holloway and EDGE Kobby Sakyi-Prah hail from Georgia, as well.
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You can watch some of Hatfield’s film below.
