Darius Rush accepts Senior Bowl invite
South Carolina Gamecocks redshirt senior cornerback Darius Rush has officially accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, the game announced on Twitter Monday night.
Rush technically did have another year of eligibility left because of COVID but has been at South Carolina for five years, a starter the last two seasons, and walked on Senior Night against Tennessee. Accepting the Senior Bowl invite all but confirms that the Kingstree, S.C. native will make the leap to the NFL this offseason.
The annual contest that features rising NFL Draft prospects is set for a 2:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Mobile, Ala., and will be featured on the NFL Network.
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The C.E. Murray graduate has been arguably the Gamecocks’ best cornerback this season, finishing with the highest coverage grade on the team, according to PFF.
In 10 games this year Rush has been targeted 31 times. He’s allowed receptions 18 times for 317 yards and 104 yards after the catch. He’s broken up six passes, has two interceptions and has only allowed two touchdowns. Quarterbacks have an 87.7 rating when targeting him.
He’s also been dealing with nagging injuries this season and did miss a few games.
Last season he had a breakout year, which vaulted him onto a few draft boards heading into 2022.
In his first real season as a starter in 2021, Rush allowed 16 receptions on 39 targets for 349 yards and 143 after the catch. He broke up eight with one pick and four scores allowed as part of a resurgent Gamecocks secondary.
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A reserve receiver turned reserve defensive back turned starter and now a likely NFL pick, Rush has 75 tackles, five for a loss, one sack, three interceptions and one forced fumble in his South Carolina career.
Rush enrolled with the 2018 class, a three-star prospect and the No. 181 receiver in the class (No. 1068 overall). He bounced around positions, ultimately settling at defensive back, where he has thrived.
The Gamecocks play Notre Dame Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. A win would give South Carolina arguably its best season since 2013, the final of the three-straight 11-win years.
Collyn Taylor contributed to this report.
