South Carolina Football: Under the radar players to watch as fall camp begins
By Kevin Miller
That sound you don’t hear is every college football collectively holding their breaths as they eagerly await the official start to football season. South Carolina football began fall camp on Friday, so Gamecock fans are getting their first taste of football since spring practice, and the start of the 2023 season is so close, you can almost smell it through the humid summer air.
The Gamecocks hold the unique distinction of being a team that has a wide range of expectations from “experts” and fans, alike. Most believe that South Carolina football is on the rise as a program. However, with the nation’s most difficult schedule in 2023, how that progress manifests itself this fall is a debated subject.
Analysts around the country have pegged Carolina anywhere from a 5-win team to a 10-win team in the 2023 regular season. The Gamecocks return a lot of their top playmakers on offense but lost their entire tight end room and almost their whole running back group. On defense, Carolina is replacing a lot of talent, as well.
The uncertainty surrounding the program at certain positions (especially running back, defensive end/EDGE, and cornerback) clouds the obvious progress that has been made since the Will Muschamp era crashed and burned in embarrassing fashion.
If South Carolina football is to continue its linear ascent up the mountain that is the college football hierarchy, several relatively unknown players on the roster will be needed to become big-time contributors for the garnet and black this fall.
Sure, big-time players like Juice Wells, Spencer Rattler, Dakereon Joyner, and Nyck Harbor will have lots of eyes on them during camp, but there are other less-talked-about players on the roster worthy of some attention heading into the 2023 season.
With that thought in mind, which of these underrated players should South Carolina football fans be watching most closely during fall camp?