South Carolina football: predicting season awards, top performers

Predicting South Carolina football’s season awards

Top Freshman – RB/RET Juju McDowell

McDowell is another young running back that’s received tons of praise. The freshman could find himself helping out in the backfield, at the slot, or in the return game, but he’s expected to see the field a lot in his first year.

McDowell’s teammate, Lloyd, called the rusher the most explosive back on the roster, high praise in a group that features a former five-star recruit, a No. 1 ranked JUCO transfer, and the SEC’s leading returning rusher.

Check out McDowell’s big play abilities in the video below.

Runner-ups: Debo Williams, Kolbe Fields

Top Transfer – EDGE Jordan Strachan

Strachan led all of college football with 10.5 sacks last season at Georgia State. Now, he’s moved up to the SEC, and he’s expected to make some major noise on a deep South Carolina front four. The edge rusher could line up as a traditional defensive end at times, or he’ll stand up in more of an outside backer role.

Either way, his goal will be to get to the quarterback, early and often. South Carolina has some issues in the back seven, meaning applying pressure to opposing offenses will be key. Strachan will be a major player in that defensive strategy and should wind up finishing near the top of the list when it comes to Gamecock sack leaders in the upcoming season.

Runner-ups: EJ Jenkins, Ahmarean Brown