Pickens High School QB Brooks Dow (6-6 210) is headed to South Carolina. Not to throw footballs, but to catch them. Earlier this week while at a camp, Dow was offered a preferred walk-on opportunity by Gamecock tight ends coach Shawn Elliott. Friday night after competing in a 7×7 event at USC, he accepted that offer.
“I was supposed to work out with them at the beginning of June, and then they had (Judah Lancaster) commit,” Dow said. “I ended up just going to camp and actually participating in camp, and Coach Elliott really liked what he saw, I guess. I was up there a lot during the spring, just making and building connections with all the coaches, and I definitely think that played a big role in the PWO. I get all the perks and everything but financial aid. He just said that he really loves having me around. He wants me to be there with him, be a part of the program.”
Dow has always been a quarterback, so when he camped with the Gamecocks this week, he had to prove to the coaches, and to himself, that he could get the job done as a tight end in the SEC.
“That was my first time ever doing it,” Dow said. “I’ve done some drills by myself here and there, but nothing like the extent that I did at camp. They said I did really well, ran well, and blocked well. They said that for me, not having ever played the position before, it was really good.”
Dow said Appalachian State and Charlotte were among some other options for him, but the chance to join the Gamecocks was too good to pass up.
“Carolina was a place I really wanted to go,” he said. “I really love the coaches and everybody down there. I really like it down there. I really like Carolina and everybody down there.”
In case the Gamecocks need an emergency quarterback in the future, Dow joked that he would be ready. Last season he passed for 1515 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 1089 yards and 19 touchdowns.