South Carolina football: projected starting lineup following Spring practice

OFFENSE

QB – Luke Doty

RB – Kevin Harris

WR – Dakereon Joyner / Ahmarean Brown / Jalen Brooks

TE – Nick Muse

OL – Dylan Wonnum / Jovaughn Gwyn / Eric Douglas / Tyshawn Wannamaker / Jakai Moore

Doty came out of the Spring with the backing of his new head coach. Shane Beamer tabbed the sophomore as the team’s starting quarterback exiting the offseason, so he’ll now turn his focus to staying atop the depth chart as the regular season creeps closer.

He’ll have a ton of help in the offensive backfield, where 1,000-yard rusher Kevin Harris returns for a third season at tailback. Though the running backs room is talented, with former five-star rusher MarShawn Lloyd and top JUCO prospect ZaQuandre waiting in the wings, there’s no way to keep Harris out of the starting lineup after the performance from a year ago.

While the backfield is pretty much set in stone, there are question marks at wide receiver. Shi Smith will be playing for the Carolina Panthers next year, after accounting for more than a third of the receiving production on the Gamecocks’ roster last season. Behind Smith, no South Carolina receiver notched more than 150 yards on the season.

We’ve pegged Dakereon Joyner, Jalen Brooks, and transfer Ahmarean Brown as the starters, though this is a position group that could fluctuate throughout the season. Joyner has been one of the more talked about players on the roster this offseason, and it looks like the new staff will try to use him in a number of ways. Brooks earned a starting role after transferring in last year. In five games, he tallied 11 catches for 100 yards. He’s got big play potential, but has to be more consistent. Brown comes to Columbia from Georgia Tech, where he earned All-ACC Freshman honors in 2019. He boasts a career average of more than 18 yards per catch and has found paydirt nine times in 19 games.

Helping out the passing game will be returning tight end Nick Muse, who ended last year as the team’s second leading receiver. He hauled in 30 receptions for 425 yards and a touchdown, becoming Luke Doty’s top target over the season’s final two games.

The offensive line should again be solid. The Gamecocks lost Sadarius Hutcherson to graduation, but will return a ton of production in 2021. Dylan Wonnum is looking to finish his career on a high note as he sets his sights on a professional career. He’ll likely earn one of the tackle spots. The other we’ve projected to go to Jakai Moore. At guard, Jovaughn Gwyn should keep his 21-start streak going, teaming up with rising sophomore Tyshawn Wannamaker. At center, Eric Douglas returns for his senior season, and will slot into the middle of the starting lineup.