The South Carolina football team achieved a compromise in a position of need.
The Gamecocks made an appointment on Christmas Day for junior college cornerback Isaiah Norris on Friday night, adding a player to the team’s narrowest room. South Carolina saw six defenders drop out of the program due to transfer intentions or professional football aspirations.
Norris adds the necessary depth to a secondary that has only four stock market players with action in the game.
Originally from Anderson, SC, Norris studied at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. The three-star prospect was committed to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, but withdrew the promise after getting the offer from South Carolina. He also had offers from Tennessee and the state of Washington.
Norris is considered the eighth best cornerback at JUCO and the 67th best candidate for a junior college, regardless of position.
Like Bulldog, Norris recorded 37 tackles, five tackles for defeat and four interceptions last year.
He has many ties to the program, having played with several players on the squad. Prior to his time at junior college, he spent four seasons at TL Hanna High School, upstate South Carolina, where he was a teammate with Gamecocks, Zacch Pickens.
Norris becomes the second JUCO defender to join the gang, as Marcellas Dial, a colleague at Georgia Military College, signed his letter of intent last Wednesday, during the signing period. Norris also signed last week, but wanted to wait for Christmas to make the announcement public.
Although he signed before, he doesn’t plan to sign up until the summer. With the addition, South Carolina’s 10-player class rises to 100th place nationally.