Incoming 4 star defensive end recruit Shameik Blackshear was arrested Friday evening at his high school for petit larceny (petty larceny) of items until 2000 dollars in value. Allegedly, Blackshear broke into a home and stole a purse and a safe that contained $1,300 in cash. When confronted multiple times about the crime, Blackshear kept refusing to cooperate with authorities so he was arrested and released on a personal bond. Blackshear appears to have been given an opportunity to return the cash and safe for no charges, but refused to do so.
Despite tearing an ACL in his senior year, Blackshear was seen as a potential star at defensive end for the Gamecocks. If his knee checked out medically for the Cocks, he could have been a starter at weakside DE by the end of the 2015 season.
The Gamecocks coaching staff believed that Blackshear didn’t have any long term knee problems from his ACL tear, that he would be a potential all-SEC player for them. His talent and physical abilities were off the charts.
Steve Spurrier has dealt with problematic players in the past and if Blackshear’s scholarship will be honored he’ll be required to sign a personal behavior contract with Coach Spurrier. This is nothing new and has been standard for players that can’t avoid the police or misbehaving. The two most prominent players to be asked to sign such a contract has been Stephen Garcia (who didn’t live up to the terms of his contract and was kicked off the team) and Victor Hampton (who did live up to his contract). However, recently the team withdrew the scholarship offer for 3 star WR Michael Bowman who was arrested for stealing multiple iPads and iPods while a senior in high school.
Whether Blackshear will even get a chance to sign such a contract with Coach Spurrier is serious question. It’s going to be hard for Spurrier to keep Blackshear around when he withdrew the offer to Bowman and the facts of the case don’t look good for the player either. It’s very possible that Coach Hoke lobbies to Spurrier to give Blackshear one last chance, but with so much defensive end/edge rush talent coming into Columbia this fall, it’s also very possible that they decide to make an example of him.