South Carolina Football: Dakereon Joyner changing positions?

South Carolina football’s Dakereon Joyner has worn many hats in his time as a Gamecock. He has been quarterback, a wildcat quarterback, a wide receiver, a slot receiver, a kick returner, and has even taken a few handoffs in the backfield. Because of a media report from Tuesday’s practice that said Joyner was repping with the running backs, speculation began about #5’s future and whether or not he would change positions to help out the Gamecocks at a position of need.

In the immortal words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.” In his media availability later on Tuesday, Head Coach Shane Beamer said clearly that DK Joyner “is still a receiver.” Beamer did not go as far as to say that Joyner would never line up in the backfield, however. He has taken a few handoffs in his career, and he and Xavier Legette were already expected to help out in the run game this season. Coach Beamer said about the senior Joyner that “there’s a lot of different things we can do with him.”

The running game is a big question mark for South Carolina heading into the 2023 season. Leading rusher MarShawn Lloyd has transferred to the other USC, Christian Beal-Smith has graduated, and Rashad Amos has transferred, as well.

Dante Miller is still waiting on his waiver to be approved by the NCAA for a final year of eligibility, and he and Juju McDowell are viewed as smaller backs that might not hold up as every-down players in the SEC. Mario Anderson transferred in from Newberry but has never played high-level football before, and DJay Braswell is not yet on campus. Joyner will almost certainly be needed to rush the football this season, especially early.

But what will that look like? New Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains has experience working with offenses that run the quarterback and utilize other non-running backs in the run game. During his time at Arkansas, he worked alongside Kendall Briles and had KJ Jefferson and Malik Hornsby at quarterback. During some of his NFL tenure, he coached mobile quarterbacks Jake Locker, Johnny Manziel, and Ryan Tannehill.

Loggains’ experience utilizing athletic quarterbacks should allow him to figure out a way to utilize Joyner similarly to the expanded role he saw toward the end of the 2022 season. The final five games of the year saw him pass and catch for over 100 yards and score four touchdowns, including two on the ground. His 275 yards of total offense only trailed Spencer Rattler and Juice Wells for the Gamecocks over that same stretch.

For now, it seems like Joyner will not be “changing positions,” but Gamecock fans should expect to see him used all over the field in the fall.