Defensive back Chaz Elder interacts with fans on Twitter
South Carolina signee Chaz Elder didn’t know at first why his high school coach thought he was a leader on the football team.
“I motivated some of the younger players to work harder,” Elder said after a second thought.
When asked if he wanted to bring that leadership to USC, Elder answered with an emphatic yes.
“He did everything we asked him to do in terms of raising the bar and living up to the expectations,” said Banneker High football coach Marquis Slaton. “There were guys before Chaz that sort of laid the foundation and he pretty much hit the ground running with it. He challenged himself every day to get better. He motivated the players around him to get better as well and also the coaches — just made the whole program step up its game to another level. For that, we’re very proud of Chaz for what he did.”
The defensive back from College Park, Ga. has shown the public his leadership skills by way of the Internet, as he is a politician on Twitter, engaging the fans of “Gamecock Nation.” His tweets range from his excitement about joining the Gamecocks to reassurance of his commitment when USC was undergoing multiple coaching changes. He’s used the social media site to voice his opinion that South Carolina is underrated in the SEC and to answer questions from fans for 30 to 45 minutes on Signing Day.
“Excited to be going to SC and not only following the path set by other DBs but to make a name for myself and win multiple SEC championships,” Elder tweeted on Signing Day.
For Slaton, Elder’s Twitter adventures aren’t surprising.
“He’s a well-grounded kid,” Slaton said. “He understands what commitments are all about. He understands what loyalty is all about. That’s something that we instilled in our program at Banneker High School. With his commitment and staying true to his commitment through all of the coaching changes, I think it spoke volumes of him and his character. He will speak all the time about just going to South Carolina and being a big contributor and helping the team get better as best he could.”
Slaton has also seen Elder’s commitment and leadership outside of football.
“In the classroom, he’s just like he is on the field,” Slaton said. “He’s a leader in the classroom. He participates daily, sits in the front of the class, he challenges his classmates to get better and learn the content of the lesson and overall, (he’s) just a fun loving kid.”
Elder, who has wanted to play football professionally since he was five, said he decided to go to USC sometime after his visit, though he didn’t announce until the third quarter of the Under Armour All-American Game. On his visit, Elder met former cornerback Stephon Gilmore, safety D.J. Swearinger and other players.
“He said he really enjoyed it a lot,” Slaton said of Elder’s USC visit. “It was everything he expected it to be. We have some former players that also attended South Carolina. They kind of gave him some insight and the heads-up on certain things. He was excited when he went up there and it was pretty much everything they told him about South Carolina — the campus, the entire community — it was exactly what they said, and he was very impressed.”
Slaton said that Elder, who was rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, most reminds him of Carlos Thomas, who played for the Gamecocks from 2005 through the 2008 season. Like Thomas, Elder is a two-way player who can play both wide receiver and defensive back, though the Gamecocks will likely utilize him most in the defensive back role, especially with the departure of Gilmore to the NFL draft.
“I think he’ll make an immediate impact,” Slaton said. “Just with his competitiveness, he’s going to go and fit right in with the scheme that the coaches have set forth for their program.”
And while Elder said he has gotten some comments about his tweeting, he said he doesn’t care because he knows he’s going to South Carolina. As a Gamecock, Elder will have to give up the tweeting, as head coach Steve Spurrier banned Twitter for players during the regular season.
But just as Elder did anything that was asked of him at Banneker, he’ll happily do what his coaches ask of him at South Carolina.