Zacch Pickens chooses graduating from South Carolina over NFL

Zacch Pickens has become accustomed to making hard choices. As an in-state kid less than 20 minutes away from Clemson, many members of his community wanted him to play football for the Tigers. However, South Carolina stood out amongst the many schools that offered him a scholarship.

“Everything (South Carolina) got there, like the nutritionist staff, Kristen (Coggin). It’s the atmosphere, the fans, Willy-B, it’s amazing,” Pickens said at SEC Media Days. “You don’t get that special feeling anywhere else until you witness it. So, I’m glad I witnessed it.”

At the end of his junior season, he had another tough decision to make. Pickens had to decide if he wanted to declare for the NFL Draft or return to South Carolina for at least one more season. With his talent and skills, he could have been picked at some point over the three-day event if he left school early. Instead, he will be returning for one more year with the Gamecocks.

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It wasn’t an easy decision for the defensive tackle as he weighed out his options following South Carolina’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina.

“After the bowl game, I had thought about when we won, but it was, I had to take time to at least think about it for myself,” he said. “Like, was it the best decision for me to leave? Or should I come back and raise my stock, and not settle for where I was at?”

During his SEC Media Days press conference, head coach Shane Beamer said he’s excited to have Pickens back for another season, as well as fellow seniors Dakereon Joyner and Jovaughn Gwyn.

“Zacch could have been a high draft pick, chose to come back because they had goals that they hadn’t accomplished yet as individuals,” Beamer said. “But more importantly they were not satisfied with just winning seven games last season at South Carolina.”

Pickens is slated to graduate in December. He felt there wouldn’t be a better time to accomplish this longtime goal of his.

“I knew if I would’ve left, I wasn’t going to come back,” Pickens said, laughing. “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.”

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In addition to his academics, Pickens is hoping to help South Carolina win more games on the field this season. As he steps into a bigger role—both on the field and as a leader—there’s a chance to improve his draft stock as well.

“We all trying to get better,” Pickens said. “Every time we turn around, we choose to get better. There’s not one thing that we take for granted. That’s one thing we are trying to do better than last year. Last year was good, but we are trying to do even better. We are trying to improve every year.”

Under the guidance of defensive coordinator Clayton White, Pickens made big strides last year, starting all 13 games. He finished with a career-high 38 tackles and four sacks. South Carolina’s coaches named him the Most Outstanding Player on defense at the end of the spring.

“Zacch’s a talented football player, a big guy who plays very hard, he practices very well. He takes coaching, so it’s really good to see those guys,” White said last season. “Anytime a defensive tackle starts getting in the spotlight it means he’s doing a lot of good work and doing some good things and people are taking notice.”

Heading into the season, the Gamecocks will be without some of their veteran leadership, including Kingsley Enagbare, Jabari Ellis and Jaylan Foster. Pickens said it will be important for the younger players to grow up fast and help fill in the gaps.

“We’re like a young team. We’ve got like 21 seniors and the rest of them are freshmen and sophomores,” Pickens said. “But it’s time for that half to step up because we’re leaving. So, when they step up, we’re going to be a good football team,” Pickens said.

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