South Carolina Football: State of the Program
By Jacob Elsey
WHAT’S GONE
Coaching
On offense, Bryan McClendon, Thomas Brown, and Dan Werner have moved on. McClendon was stripped of his play-calling duties following an abysmal year for the Gamecock offense. South Carolina ranked 96th in total offense and 104th in scoring. McClendon has since joined the staff at the University of Oregon, where he’ll serve as an assistant coach.
Thomas Brown spent only one season in Columbia, but got decent production from a running back room that featured three seniors. He’s now testing his luck in the NFL after accepting a position with the LA Rams.
Dan Werner spent the last couple of years on staff coaching the quarterback room, a duty that will now be handled by incoming offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
On defense, John Scott, Jr. and Coleman Hutzler are gone. Scott spent only a season in Columbia but helped Javon Kinlaw mature into an All-American and first round NFL draft pick. He’s off to Penn State.
Hutzler is moving on to Texas, joining the Longhorn staff as co-defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. He spent the last four years with the South Carolina program and coached Gamecock linebackers Ernest Jones, TJ Brunson, and Skai Moore. Hutzler also helped with special teams that saw greats Joseph Charlton and Deebo Samuel set program records over the last few seasons. He’ll be tough to replace in ’20.
Offense
The offensive unit loses the program’s all-time leading receiver, a four-year starter in the backfield, and a former starting quarterback. Bryan Edwards has graduated and moved on to the NFL after being picked up by the Raiders. His void may be the most difficult for the Gamecocks to overcome, as the wide receiver room is full of inexperience and unproven options. On top of the question marks at receiver, starting tight end Kyle Markway has also left the program.
The top three Gamecock rushers from ’19 are gone, too, with Rico Dowdle, Tavien Feaster, and Mon Denson graduating. Dowdle, in particular, will be missed after running for nearly 2,200 yards between ’16-’19. There will be talent in next year’s running back room, but much like the wide receiver position, it’s largely unproven.
And, finally, former starter Jake Bentley has transferred to Utah after spending three seasons under center with the Gamecocks. He broke his foot in a season-opening loss to North Carolina last year, which caused him to miss the final 11 games. For his career, Bentley threw for 7,527 yards and 55 touchdowns. The good news for South Carolina is that Ryan Hilinski got plenty of reps as the starting signal caller in ’19.
Defense
The Gamecock defense lost three players in the NFL draft, one of whom was a first round pick in Javon Kinlaw. Kinlaw’s presence in the middle of the Carolina front four will be difficult to replace. Also gone along the line is DJ Wonnum, who started at the Buck position each of the last four seasons.
Kinlaw tied for the team lead in sacks last year, earning All-America honors as a senior. Wonnum tallied 137 tackles and 30 tackles for loss over his career before being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in April.
South Carolina will also need to replace veteran linebacker TJ Brunson, defensive lineman Kobe Smith, and safeties JT Ibe and Jamyest Williams.