Coach on 2019 DE Zacch Pickens: "He's a tremendous force."

Jeff Herron took the head coaching job at T.L. Hanna (S.C.) last winter, and he inherited one of the nation’s top prospects in 2019 defensive end Zacch Pickens‍. 

The 6-foot-5, 270-pounder impressed Herron off the bat with his demeanor and the way he carries himself.

“He’s a great kid and a tremendous young man,” Herron told Irish Sports Daily. “He hasn’t let this recruiting stuff and being ranked the top player in South Carolina go to his head. He’s very humble and hardworking.” 

Notre Dame has started to dig around as Herron spoke to the staff about his star player. 

“They gave me a phone call last week,” said Herron. “They were asking about him, but that’s pretty much it.” 

The four-star prospect dominated his opponents in 2017, but Herron knows there is still a long way to go. 

“He made a ton of improvement last year during the season,” explained Herron. “Most kids when they’re that talented that young, they just rely on ability. He made great strides in technique. He’s not a finished product by any means, but he made improvements and will this year. 

“We played him at tight end quite a bit, and he was a tremendous force there. He’s a great kid, who has tremendous athletic ability for his size. He’s a man amongst boys. From a technique standpoint, he can get away with things he won’t be able to at the next level.” 

Herron has coached at a few powerhouse programs like Grayson (Ga.) and Oconee County (Ga.). In fact, Herron is approaching 300 career wins and went on a 58-game winning streak at Oconee County.

However, Herron hasn’t seen a player quite like Pickens. 

“I’ve been blessed to be around some really good ones,” Herron stated. “I haven’t seen a kid like Zacch. A kid with that size, explosion, and quickness – kids like that don’t come along too often.” 

While some feel Pickens will be an inside guy with his size, Herron believes Pickens could stick on the outside because of his athletic traits. 

“He’s an outside guy,” stated Herron. “He could be a standup rush guy or play with his hand down. He could be an inside guy, but he’s just too athletic not to be an outside guy.” 

Notre Dame will have its work cut out to get in the race, but Herron believes relationships will be the most critical factor to Pickens. 

“He has been recruited by Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama for a long a time,” Herron explained. “Notre Dame has come into the picture recently.  

“Relationships and the people recruiting him are important to Zacch. He has a great personality and whoever is recruiting him will have as much to do with it as where it’s located. 

“There’s a lot of pressure for him to stay in-state, but there’s no doubt in my mind he can go anywhere and be successful.” 

Herron’s belief in Pickens ability to be successful started on the first day he saw him on the football field. 

“The first of spring practice last year,” said Herron. “We were doing a toughness drill, and we tried to run at him. That didn’t go so well. We learned in a hurry that we couldn’t run in that direction. 

“He’s had a bunch of really big plays. There was a play at the end of the season where a team completed a screen pass, and the kid was going the distance. Zacch was the fastest guy chasing him and almost caught him. To see a kid that’s 6-foot-6, 280 pounds run like that, you don’t see that every day.” 

Pickens holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.