Elijah Caldwell Has Tools To Be A Dangerous All-Around Receiver
The South Carolina Gamecocks are set to lose multiple productive contributors from their receiver room, as veteran players like Josh Vann and Jalen Brooks have thoroughly exhausted all of their eligibility.
Meanwhile, star playmaker Antwane Wells has not publicly decided on his future in Columbia. To prepare for the departure of Vann and Brooks and the potential exodus from next year's group, head coach Shane Beamer and wide receivers coach Justin Stepp have signed a crop from the 2023 recruiting class that includes Tyshawn Russell, CJ Adams, and Kelton Henderson.
The only potential issue with this group is that Russell was the only one who played purely wide receiver this past fall that will stick at the position at South Carolina, as Adams is projected to be a potential H-back. Henderson played multiple roles at Lehigh Senior High School. Due to this, the staff has continued to scour for potential targets they could nab. Last week, they dispensed an offer to Northwestern product and South Carolina native Elijah Caldwell.
Caldwell was excited to receive an offer from the state's flagship university, as evidenced by what he posted on Twitter the day he got the news.
When going back and watching Caldwell's senior season highlights at Northwestern, it becomes obvious why the Gamecocks have made Caldwell a priority target. The best way to describe the Rock Hill native's game is one where he can help an offense produce explosive plays in various ways.
The main area where Caldwell excels is his ability to reel in intermediate to deep passes by either beating defensive backs off the line, high-pointing a pass, and subsequently jumping over his defender and surviving contact when multiple defenders are in the area.
Elijah is also a dangerous threat in the quick passing game, as he was utilized on a bevy of tunnel screens where he showcased his ability to accelerate in the open field and use his ballcarrier vision to work past potential open-field tacklers.
He also displayed good awareness of his position relative to the sideline, making it tough to stop him on a hitch, comeback, or outs. Elijah is, as the kids put it, a problem at all three field levels, both horizontally and vertically. This makes his potential at the next level so tantalizing for South Carolina's coaching staff.
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