South Carolina Football: Juice Wells named one of SEC’s “Most Explosive” in 2023
By Kevin Miller
![South Carolina football's Antwane "Juice" Wells has received more NIL deals than any other player in the SEC. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fa6ffd04d1d71e1f2596bd9d3485a70d9229a017211c2638989d07b43c463ac58.jpg "South Carolina football's Antwane \"Juice\" Wells has received more NIL deals than any other player in the SEC. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
The SEC is the best conference in college football and has been for at least two decades. Having the best teams in the land means that the SEC also has the most explosive playmakers in the country. Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara has ten SEC playmakers that he believes will stand out above the rest of the conference. One name on the list is familiar to South Carolina football fans: Juice Wells.
Antwane “Juice” Wells burst onto the college football scene last fall in his first year of Power-5 football. The James Madison transfer finished the 2022 season in the top-5 in the SEC in both receptions (2nd with 68 grabs) and yards (5th with 928 yards).
What makes that production even more impressive is that Juice Wells pulled this off while having four different games with three or fewer touches as he was forced to operate in a Marcus Satterfield-led offense that struggled for most of the season.
With talented quarterback Spencer Rattler returning for the Gamecocks, O’Gara and many other college football analysts believe that Juice Wells is in position to improve upon his impressive 2022 campaign.
The explosive wide receiver and gunslinging quarterback have developed an impressive chemistry in their one year together, and with both players competing for their NFL Draft stocks, look for the #7 to #3 connection to be strong in 2023.
With other South Carolina receiving threats like Xavier Legette, Trey Knox, and 5-star freshman Nyckoles Harbor drawing some attention, Wells could challenge for one of the best receiver seasons in Gamecock history.
New offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains seems to click better with Wells and Rattler better than his predecessor ever did. If he can call a more consistent offense, too, then the Gamecocks will be a dark horse in the SEC East.
Amazingly, Juice Wells did not score a receiving touchdown in Williams-Brice Stadium, but he did have a rushing score in the Gamecocks’ thrashing of the Tennessee Volunteers. South Carolina football fans can rest assured that will change this fall.
The rest of the country has noticed the greatness of Juice Wells as the talented receiver was the SEC’s leader in total NIL deals through the month of May. Another big year like 2022, and he will be in for even more deals before being a high selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.