Gamecocks vs. Texas A&M Depth Chart: Who’s starting against the Aggies?
By Sydney Hunte
The South Carolina Gamecocks released their gameday depth chart today at Steve Spurrier’s press conference. Here’s a look:
More from South Carolina Football
- South Carolina Football: What has changed on the Gamecocks’ depth chart?
- South Carolina Football: Gamecocks make top group for elite athlete out of Georgia
- South Carolina Football: Kickoff time set for next weekend’s matchup with Tennessee
- South Carolina Football: Gamecocks announce sellout for this weekend
- South Carolina Football: 4-star quarterback target makes commitment
–A notable move is at right guard, where Mike Matulis was slated to start before getting injured. Cody Waldrop will slide over from center to take that spot, while replacing Waldrop in the middle will be either redshirt sophomore Clayton Stadnik or redshirt junior Will Sport. Stadnik isn’t walking in ice cold; he started seven games as a true freshman last year at center in relief of Waldrop.
–Two brothers will start on the defensive line: Gerald Dixon will get the call at one end while Gerald Dixon Jr. gets the assignment at defensive tackle alongside J.T. Surratt. By the way, the weight of the four defensive linemen is over half a ton combined (1148 pounds to be exact), with Dixon Jr. weighing in at 323.
–Twelve true or redshirt freshmen are listed on the chart, but one true freshman will get a start: Al Harris Jr., a three-star recruit from Fort Lauderdale and the 44th ranked CB in the country in the class of 2014, gets the second corner slot across the way from senior Brison Williams.
–If Rory Anderson isn’t ready to go on Thursday, junior Jerell Adams (13 catches, 187 yards, two TDs in 2013) is listed behind him at tight end. At running back, Brandon Wilds is the backup and will start if Mike Davis isn’t 100% come game time.
–Spurrier mentioned that the backup spot behind Dylan Thompson hasn’t been determined yet, so that’s why Connor Mitch and Perry Orth is an “or” situation as of right now.
–Here’s the full depth chart (true or redshirt freshmen with an asterisk):
Offense
WR1: Shaq Roland (Damiere Byrd, Shamier Jeffery, Shaq Davidson*)
WR2: Pharoh Cooper (K.J. Brent, Deebo Samuel*)
WR3: Nick Jones (Carlton Heard, Kane Whitehurst, Terry Googer*)
LT: Corey Robinson (Mason Zandi)
LG: A.J. Cann (Will Sport)
C: Clayton Stadnik or Will Sport
RG: Cody Waldrop (Alan Knott*)
RT: Brandon Shell (Na’Ty Rodgers*)
TE: Rory Anderson (Jerell Adams, Cody Gibson, Drew Owens)
QB: Dylan Thompson (Connor Mitch* or Perry Orth)
FB: Connor McLaurin (Jordan Diaz)
TB: Mike Davis (Brandon Wilds, Shon Carson, David Williams*)
Defense
DE1: Gerald Dixon (Mason Harris)
DT1: J.T. Surratt (Philip Dukes, Deon Green)
DT2: Gerald Dixon Jr. (Abu Lamin, Kelsey Griffin)
DE2: Darius English (David Johnson*, Cedrick Cooper)
MLB: T.J. Holloman (Kaiwan Lewis, Marcquis Roberts)
WLB: Skai Moore (Jonathan Walton, Bryson Allen-Williams*)
SPUR: Sharrod Golightly (Jordan Diggs, Larenz Bryant)
CB1: Brison Williams (Chris Lammons*, Sidney Rhodes)
SS: Chris Moody (Kadetrix Marcus)
FS: Chaz Elder (T.J. Gurley, Jasper Sasser*)
CB2: Al Harris Jr.* (Rico McWilliams, Wesley Green)