Darlington’s Gatlin Hancock has been a multi-year starter who has helped his program to one of its most promising seasons in recent memory. The senior who just won our top linemen for Week 10 talked about the great regular season for the Tigers.
“Our season has been going great so far. We are 9-0 as of right now and we continue to improve, we play in the Region Championship on November 4th against Trion,” Hancock said.
Darlington is on BYE this week, and will get ready for the aforementioned Trion matchup the following Friday. One aspect of the Tigers’ great season here in 2022 is their dominant offensive line that has controlled the line of scrimmage.
“Coach Atha always tells us it’s not about the knockdowns or pancakes. It’s all about how you apply what the coaches tell us to do in practice in the games. But as a whole offensive line, we have been dominant at times,” Hancock said.
Hancock is a crushing blocker who gets out of his stance quickly and dominates opposing defenses. His block last week that earned him a spot on the ‘Bully Squad’ showcased his outstanding motor when he took down the defender multiple times in a few seconds.
Part of what makes Hancock such a good blocker at 6’4″ and 260 lbs. is his quickness off the ball and last offseason that was once again a top priority to improve.
“I have definitely improved on my feet quickness I believe. We worked really hard this off-season to get better feet and to work on taking better steps,” he said.
Hancock and fellow Darlington senior offensive lineman Gus Gammage were widely selected in the preseason for All-State in Class A Div I. The two seniors are the cornerstone of their offensive attack and have given the Tigers an edge during the season. With an undefeated regular season on the line on November 4th, Hancock sees great potential for his team in the coming weeks with a state championship ultimately in mind.
“I would love to finish off the season as state champs. We still have a long road ahead of us and we still haven’t reached our full potential yet,” he said.
With his recruitment settled on a Kennesaw State commitment, Hancock has been able to focus completely on his senior season. Hancock made his pledge to the Owls over the summer before school was back, so we asked the senior why he chose Kennesaw State over the many D1 programs vying for his commitment.
“I picked KSU because of the family environment and beliefs they stand by. I was recruited by the whole staff and that was different from every other school because that shows how they truly believe in a family environment. Coach Chesnut and Coach Glanton have been a huge help in the recruiting process because they were always straightforward with me and never blew smoke up my butt.”
The Kennesaw State staff has always been straight shooters from our experience as well, and the continuity they have seen over the years says a lot about the synergies within the staff. The Owls will be moving up to the FBS here shortly playing in Conference USA, and Hancock believes the staff and players will raise to that level of play.
“I want to make history and they continue to do that every single year. I believe I can bring that intensity to the offensive line that is needed, I like to play with a lot of aggression and I can do that with Coach Chesnut and Coach Cook. I am looking forward to what we bring to the FBS because we are going to shock the country!”
We definitely feel like the intensity and quickness of Hancock is a perfect pairing with Kennesaw State’s option attack on offense. As we mentioned earlier, the senior is a mauling blocker who has a motor to get upfield and make key blocks for his team.
Impact blocks similar to what we saw in Week 10 will be key in the coming weeks for his Darlington squad, so be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia on Twitter to hear the latest updates around Hancock and Darlington plus players all across the state of Georgia.
