South Carolina suffered its biggest loss of the season months before it even began when it was announced last May that senior linebacker Skai Moore would miss the entire season after suffering a herniated disk in his neck. While Moore admitted he contemplated leaving Columbia after sitting out the season, the Gamecocks star defender could not resist the opportunity to prove himself once again on the college stage.

During his Wednesday media availability, the senior linebacker talked about initially dealing with the tough news.

“It was very difficult, coming back off your junior season — you’re about to be a senior, about to finish (his career), all that’s on your mind is finish this last season and stuff and then you hear that,” Moore said. “It was pretty difficult to hear. Once the doctor told me it wasn’t a career-ending injury that was something that made it a lot easier to take so I just had to be patient and not rush it.”

Moore admitted he considered entering his name into the upcoming NFL draft and not returning to Columbia for the 2017 season.

“Yeah, that’s definitely a thought that crossed my mind, for sure,” Moore said. “After the long talks with my support system — coaches, family, and all that, we all decided it was the best decision for me to come back and just finish what I started here and make myself kind of known again.”

His decision wasn’t an easy one, however, as Moore debated the entire season on what he should do. It wasn’t until around the Clemson game (Nov. 26) that he finally decided to return for the 2017 season.

“It was definitely throughout the whole year, going back and forth and thinking about what I wanted to do,” Moore said.

The Gamecock defense stands to benefit greatly from Moore’s decision to return. Not only was he far and away the unit’s best defender in 2016, but you could also argue he was the SEC’s best linebacker that season. Coming off a year in which he racked up 110 tackles, four interceptions, and three forced fumbles, if Moore can return to the lineup and duplicate that kind of success next season, the decision to return will have paid off enormously for the talented defender.

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