South Carolina football: 5 bold predictions for 2021 season

4. The team will have a 750-yard receiver

South Carolina had just one reliable target in the passing attack last season, and he’s now off to the NFL. Shi Smith hauled in 57 receptions for 633 yards, accounting for over a third of the team’s receiving production. Who are the Gamecocks going to turn to in 2021?

There are a ton of options, albeit unproven. Xavier Legette, Josh Vann, Dakereon Joyner, and Jalen Brooks are back after earning starts last year. Brooks, in particular, has some big play ability if he can minimize the drops. He tallied 751 receiving yards in 2019 with Wingate, and the Gamecocks are hoping it can translate to the SEC.

South Carolina also added EJ Jenkins and Ahmarean Brown in the transfer portal over the offseason, and both should immediately factor into the wide receiver rotation. Brown caught seven touchdowns as a freshman at Georgia Tech, while Jenkins tallied 779 receiving yards at St Francis University in 2019, setting a school record with 13 scores.

The talent is there for one Gamecock receiver to have a big year. Who will step to the forefront in 2021?

5. South Carolina will win seven games (including a bowl)

Many preseason projections see the Gamecocks winning four or five games in Shane Beamer’s first year. That’s due in large part to the difficult schedule that the team will face in 2021. We talked earlier about the possibility of five top 15 teams being on the slate, with four of those teams ranking among the nation’s top 10 programs.

There is, however, a path to six wins and a bowl appearance. The Gamecocks start the season with three out-of-conference foes, a matchup with Vanderbilt, and two toss up games with Tennessee and Kentucky. Should South Carolina take care of business against the teams they’ll be favored against, and pull an upset against the Wildcats or Vols, a 5-2 start isn’t out of the question.

The back half of the slate is tough, as South Carolina finishes with Texas A&M, Florida, Missouri, Auburn, and Clemson, but we’re taking the Gamecocks to find a win in one of those meetings. That result would land a 6-6 overall record, and a bowl win in December would give the Gamecocks a seven-win campaign.

Seven victories would be more than the program has seen in the last two years combined, and would nearly double the predicted outcome of most preseason projections. We can dream right?