South Carolina Football Era Debate: Best Offensive Line
By Kevin Miller
In the history of South Carolina football, every good team was known for their toughness. On offense, toughness starts up front with the big uglies. Offensive linemen get little to no credit for the role they play in winning football games, but those who pay attention understand the importance of the big fellas. But which era of football at South Carolina had the best offensive line units?
First, let’s define the eras.
The Rex Enright Era: Anything before 1956
While Coach Enright did not literally coach all of these seasons, he was by far the longest-tenured coach during this time period, having coached twice as many games as any other coach who came before him. This is, by far, the longest of the eras but also has the fewest amount of games per season and the lowest overall amount of talent to choose from.
The ACC Era: 1956-1974
The Gamecocks joined the ACC in 1953 and left in 1971. In an effort to not split coaching tenures between two eras, 1953-1955 will be included in the Rex Enright Era, and 1971-1974 will be included in the ACC Era. 1956 was the school’s first season post-Rex Enright, and 1974 was Coach Paul Dietzel’s final year in Columbia. South Carolina did not win a ton during this era but did capture its only conference championship, claiming the ACC crown in 1969.
The Independent Era: 1975-1988
Jim Carlen, Richard Bell, and Joe Morrison led the Gamecocks through life as an Independent program. Schedules were difficult, but South Carolina managed to win at a decent clip through these years. The Gamecocks actually became Independent in 1971, but Paul Dietzel’s final years are included in the ACC Era. The program would not officially join a conference again until 1992, but after Joe Morrison passed away and Sparky Woods became coach in 1989, the move to a conference (ultimately, the SEC) was inevitable.
The Early SEC Era: 1989-2004
The years leading up to South Carolina football’s move into the best conference in college football and its first 13 years in the conference were up and down. Sparky Woods and Brad Scott struggled but had brief periods of success including the team’s first-ever bowl victory in a win over West Virginia in the Car Quest Bowl. The Lou Holtz tenure in Columbia started horribly (0-11), soared to heights Gamecock fans hadn’t seen in almost 20 years (17-7 from 2000-2001), then fizzled (three straight non-bowl seasons and a brawl that put a black eye on one of football’s best rivalries).
The Steve Spurrier Era: 2005-2015
The Steve Spurrier Era in Columbia was the brightest time in South Carolina football history. Sure, individual seasons like 1969, 1984, 1987, 2000, and 2001 happened during earlier time periods, but no time in Carolina history produced more sustained success for the garnet and black. Even with a poor ending in 2015 that saw Shawn Elliott finish the season after the Head Ball Coach resigned, Spurrier’s overall success at Carolina is unrivaled, so giving him his own era just makes sense.
The Modern Era: 2016-Present
In an era that is still building, the Gamecocks have been on a wild ride. Will Muschamp came in and fixed some of the structural issues in the program from the Spurrier era and seemed to be on the road to glory after a good second season. However, he showed he was incapable of getting things done on the field and was replaced by former Spurrier assistant Shane Beamer. Beamer and his staff have since dug the program out of a bad culture that was present at the end of the previous regime, and the South Carolina football program is on the rise once again.
Best Offensive Line Era of South Carolina Football
Each era of Gamecock football will have its positional group analyzed, and the top-three eras will be given a “starting lineup” that will be ranked against each other. Talent and positional fit will be the biggest factors, and depth will serve as a tie-breaker if the groups are just too close to point out any real distinction. For offensive linemen, tight ends will not be considered, only full-time linemen from the tackle, guard, and center positions.
The Rex Enright Era: Center was a loaded position during this era of Gamecock football. Players like Lou Sossamon, Bryant “Junior” Meeks, and Leon Cunningham all made All-American teams at center. Guard Frank Mincevich made three straight All-Conference teams and an All-American team. At left tackle, Dominic Fusci made multiple All-Southern Conference teams and started for four years.
The ACC Era: Sam Deluca was the Gamecocks’ first-ever All-American at offensive tackle, and Jake Bodkin was a two-way player who excelled as a guard blocking for Alex Hawkins and Billy Gambrell. Jim Moss played next to Bodkin at tackle and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the top blocker in the ACC in 1961 and 1962. Big Dave DeCamilla and Dennis Ford also won the Blocking Trophy at tackle and guard, respectively. Ed Pitts was a great two-way tackle during this era, as well.
The Independent Era: Del Wilkes was the only All-American on the offensive line during the Independent Era, but six different Gamecocks won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for being the best blocker in Independent football. Wilkes was joined by Steve Courson as guards to win the award, and George Schecterly was the only winner at tackle. Three centers, Leonard Burton, Mike McCabe, and Woody Myers, were honored with the award, as well.
The Early SEC Era: The offensive line struggled early on during this era. Typically, there was a very good player on the line (Ike Harris, Ernest Dye, James Dexter, Randy Wheeler, Jamar Nesbitt), but it wasn’t until Lou Holtz took over that a better overall unit was put onto the field. Cedric Williams, Melvin Paige, and Travelle Wharton all made multiple All-SEC teams, and Wharton made two All-American squads. Na’Shan Goddard and Shane Hall also made All-SEC teams during the Holtz tenure in Columbia.
The Steve Spurrier Era: For the first time in modern history, the Gamecocks put together a string of years in which they were consistently good up front under Steve Spurrier. The 2012 line was probably the best in school history. TJ Johnson, AJ Cann, and Brandon Shell all made All-SEC teams while playing together, and Corey Robinson and Ronald Patrick were extremely solid players on the same line. Mike Matulis saw action at guard and tackle when injuries popped up and was a Freshman All-American performer. Rokevious Watkins was a very good run blocker at guard and tackle a few years earlier.
The Modern Era: The modern era has reverted back to seeing offensive line struggles. Players like Zack Bailey, Sadarius Hutcherson, and Dennis Daley were All-SEC players, but each year, two or three spots on the line have been revolving doors in the passing game. Eric Douglas, Jovaughn Gwyn, and Dylan Wonnum also had good moments as blockers during this era. Recruiting in recent years should give Carolina fans hope for a better future on the line, however.
The Verdict
With some exciting young offensive linemen on the current roster and even more joining the team next offseason, the Modern Era might eventually crack this top-three. The latter part of the Early SEC Era was enough to push them into the top-3 with the Rex Enright Era and the Steve Spurrier Era.
3rd Place: The Early SEC
After some lean years up front at the beginning of the era, the Early SEC line became a good unit. Travelle Wharton is the best tackle in school history, and Jamar Nesbitt was probably the second-best. Pairing these two stalwarts on the outside with Cedric Williams and Melvin Paige at guard makes this group formidable. Center was not always as solid in this era, but Na’Shan Goddard did have some experience at the position.
2nd Place: The Rex Enright Era
The Gamecocks were known as a power running team during the Rex Enright Era. This all started up front with maulers at center, but Lou Sossamon was the best of the bunch. Frank Micevich and Dominic Fucili would be clear starters at one guard and tackle, but moving Leon Cunningham and Junior Meeks over from center to the remaining two spots would create a line full of road graders that would have been dominant in its era of football.
1st Place: The Steve Spurrier Era
The Steve Spurrier Era was the best era of Carolina football for a reason. The best center and guard in team history played together during this era as AJ Cann and TJ Johnson were dominant forces. Corey Robinson and Brandon Shell were some of the best pass blockers to ever wear garnet and black, making them perfect starters on the outside in this passing-heavy era. Ronald Patrick and Rokevious Watkins are worthy choices at guard, but Watkins gets the nod. It is hard to believe that these players were just a year away from all playing together in real life.