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?
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
Cornerbacks Marcellas Dial and O’Donnell Fortune
Fans who have watched South Carolina football closely are familiar with Marcellas Dial. The Gamecocks’ third corner in 2022, Dial started the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame and saw plenty of game action the rest of the season, playing both inside and outside in defensive backs coach Torrian Gray’s secondary.
Dial had an interception against Clemson that served as a way to introduce himself to many fans who were previously unfamiliar, and the Woodruff High School product will look to build off of that late-season success and be a true #1 cover option for defensive coordinator Clayton White’s unit.
Some college football outlets appear to be high on Dial heading into the season. On3 listed Dial in their top-100 list of college football players for the 2023 campaign, ranking the Gamecock corner #67 in the country. Athlon Sports predicted an All-SEC season for Dial in 2023, as well.
O’Donnell Fortune has been in the South Carolina football program for three years now and has seen some game action, but he is largely unproven. A 100-yard pick-six against Notre Dame has been the highlight of his limited playing time, but the speedy corner will enter fall camp as the presumed starter out wide, opposite of Dial.
As new full-time starters, Dial and Fortune will be tested often this fall, and the difficult road ahead will begin in the season opener. North Carolina already threw the ball a lot, but Mack Brown’s team is as unsure about their running game as the Gamecocks are, so expect quarterback Drake Maye to give the new secondary men a chance to prove themselves in game 1.
This fall will be instrumental in both Dial and Fortune (especially Fortune) cementing their starting roles and becoming the type of players that can adequately fill the shoes of NFL corners Cam Smith and Darius Rush who led the Gamecocks to one of the nation’s best pass defenses in 2022.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
The entire offensive line
Last season, the Gamecocks did not experience elite-level offensive line play, but they also were solid up front whenever they were not too confused by former offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s inflexible NFL system. Starters Eric Douglas (center) and Jovaughn Gwyn (guard) are in the NFL now, and long-term right tackle starter Dylan Wonnum had a nice career.
Carolina is replacing those three starters (four if one counts Jaylen Nichols who is lost for the season to a knee injury), but they also return a surprising amount of experience up front.
Jakai Moore, Nick Gargiulo, Vershon Lee, Trai Jones, and Tyshawn Wannamaker are set to start on the offensive line when the season begins against North Carolina on September 2nd. During the spring, those five and the now-injured Jaylen Nichols were named the “top-6” on the O-line by head coach Shane Beamer.
Moore, Lee, and Wannamaker have played a lot of football in garnet and black, and Gargiulo was the lone captain (and a multi-year starter) at Yale. Jones hasn’t played as much in his career as the other four, but even he has more than a little game action under his belt.
True freshman Markee Anderson, redshirt freshman Cason Henry, and transfers Ni Mansell, Jaxon Hughes, and Sidney Fugar appear to be set up for spots in the two-deep for new offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley. Seeing how this top-10 group of big uglies jell together and push each other to get better will be an important and unsung thing for fans to pay attention to this fall.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
Tight End/Wide Receiver Joshua Simon
Josh Simon has heard a lot about fellow pass-catching tight end Trey Knox this offseason, and the South Carolina native is happy for his teammate. However, Simon is going to show a lot of people this fall that he didn’t transfer to Carolina to be a backup to anyone, not even Trey Knox.
Word out of spring practice and summer workouts is that Simon is going to force new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to play two tight ends a lot this season. Simon is 6’4″ and 238 pounds and runs very well for a player his size.
In the Garnet and Black Spring Game, Spencer Rattler threw the majority of his passes to three players: Juice Wells (duh), Trey Knox, and Josh Simon. That distribution of throws could be indicative of what will be to come this fall, as well. The Gamecock receiver room has a lot of talented players, but the two new tight ends are too good to ignore.
Something to watch in Simon’s usage this fall is how often he plays wide receiver. With the presence of Knox and blocking tight end Nick Elksnis, Simon’s clearest path to considerable playing time is likely split out into the slot or out wide. He is fully capable of playing that role, as well, so if tight ends Jody Wright and wide receivers coach Justin Stepp can work something out, Gamecock fans should expect to see Simon line up all over the Carolina offense.
Seeing how Rattler continues to build chemistry with his new pass catchers will be one of August’s most intriguing storylines on offense, and Simon stands as good a chance as any to emerge as one of the team’s top targets behind Juice Wells. If things go well, the newest #6 could replace the receiving production of the player who wore the jersey a year ago, Josh Vann.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
Linebacker Mo Kaba
In just week 2 last year, Mo Kaba tore his ACL (for the second time) and missed the season and spring practice. Since then, the North Carolina native has gotten stronger as he has grown to just over 250 pounds. The Gamecocks have had success with bigger linebackers before as names like Jasper Brinkley, TJ Brunson, and Bryson Allen-Williams were very productive in garnet and black.
South Carolina fans are hopeful that Kaba can be the next big ‘backer to make plays for the Gamecock defense. As a former 4-star prospect, he has shown flashes of solid play when he has been healthy, and he has even been chosen as an All-SEC projection for the 2023 season by some media outlets.
If he is all the way back to his full capabilities, Mo Kaba will have a good year for Carolina. But is he all the way back? Is he fully healthy? According to Shane Beamer, every player other than those who have been announced with long-term injuries (like starting left tackle Jaylen Nichols), will be full-go during fall camp.
Monitoring Kaba’s health and how comfortable he is with his recovered knee will be an unfolding worth keeping tabs on over the next several weeks. With primarily unproven players in the linebacker room alongside Kaba, his full level of production will be needed this fall.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
EDGE Players Jordan Strachan and Jatius Geer
South Carolina football lost two of its top three EDGE players to the transfer portal when Jordan Burch (Oregon) and Gilber Edmond (Florida State) left via the transfer portal. Rodricus “Hot Rod” Fitten also left in the portal, and the only returner with much experience (Jordan Strachan) tore his ACL for the second time early last season.
Strachan has seen a lot of college football. In fact, he is entering his 7th year as he was able to utilize a redshirt, a medical redshirt, and the “Covid” redshirt to stay with the Gamecocks for another season. Coming off of an ACL tear, he has missed most of the offseason but appears ready to go for fall camp.
#7 will be a starter at one defensive end spot to start the year, and the Gamecocks will need him to be the player he has shown himself to be in brief flashes. A gifted pass rusher, Strachan led the nation in sacks in his final season at Georgia State before transferring to South Carolina before the 2021 season.
Jatius Geer is a South Carolina native who went to Syracuse out of high school. After a very productive redshirt freshman campaign, he entered the transfer portal, and Shane Beamer was determined not to miss on the talented pass rusher again.
Geer is the projected starter opposite of Strachan, and he has flashed some real ability (including a big hit to knock the ball away from former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei as he attempted a pass last season).
Both Strachan and Geer are likely better natural players as pass rushers than they are against the run, so they will each need to step up to become more complete players on the EDGE. With no one with much experience behind them at the defensive end spots, Gamecock fans will be anxiously watching how Strachan and Geer perform this fall.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
Defensive Lineman TJ Sanders
Everyone knows Tonka Hemingway. The 4th-year, versatile defensive lineman has been all over All-SEC Team projections this offseason for good reason. Almost everyone knows Boogie Huntley. The Columbia native and former 4-star prospect has been very good when healthy for the Gamecocks.
But defensive lineman TJ Sanders could be the most important player up front for the Gamecocks in 2023. Sanders won the best defensive lineman award this spring for his improvement and solid play at defensive tackle while Hemingway rehabbed from an offseason surgery.
Like Hemingway and junior college addition Elijah Davis, Sanders is athletic enough to play defensive end in a pinch, as well. That versatility could come in real handy this season with the Gamecocks’ dearth of depth at the defensive end spot. Starters Jordan Strachan and Jatius Geer are solid, but everyone else on the depth chart is unproven at this point.
Despite weighing 300 pounds, the former basketball player Sanders is one of the most athletic big men on the team. His quick-twitch ability will come in handy in pass rush situations, but his strength will be needed against opposing teams’ rushing attacks, especially if he is playing next to more pass rush-oriented players like Hemingway, Strachan, Geer, or Desmond Umeozulu.
Sanders’ continued progression this fall could be the key to the Gamecock front on defense. Whether he is starting (which appears to be the expectation around the program), operating as the third tackle, or playing a slash role up front, TJ Sanders will play a lot of snaps for a Carolina defensive line unit that really struggled to stop the run a year ago.
South Carolina football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
The Young Linebackers
South Carolina football has not had great linebacker play in several seasons, but the 2022 unit was solid enough led by super seniors Brad Johnson and Sherrod Greene. Mo Kaba is certainly a player to watch this season as he recovers from his ACL injury to take over one of the starting spots, but fans should also keep an eye on the younger linebackers on the roster.
Upperclassmen Debo Williams and Bam Martin-Scott will get a fair amount of snaps next to Kaba, especially early in the season. However, the growth of young ‘backers Stone Blanton and Grayson “Pup” Howard could be the most important development in the linebacker room this fall.
Blanton struggled with SEC speed as a true freshman, but he has trimmed up his body some this offseason in an effort to move more smoothly in pursuit of the football. If Blanton can take another step over the next month of practice, he could play a big role in the middle of Clayton White’s defense.
Howard is a true freshman who was one of the highest-rated prospects in the Gamecocks’ 2023 recruiting class. How ready the Carolina coaching staff can get Pup could be a major factor in the team’s defensive success this fall.
Even versatile linebackers like Donovan Westmoreland, Bryan Thomas, Jr., and Jaron Willis could factor into the linebacker rotation some this fall. All three players played some stand-up pass rush snaps in the Garnet and Black Spring Game (especially Thomas), and they are all plus-athletes who could play linebacker if needed.
If Kaba is fully healthy, he will be a solid player at one linebacker spot, but fall camp will be instrumental in seeing if Blanton, Howard, or the others can step up and meet their considerable potentials and/or if the youngsters can push upperclassmen like Williams and Martin-Scott to new levels.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
Wide Receiver/Kick Returner Xavier Legette
Under the radar might be an unfair descriptor for Xavier Legette. The fifth-year receiver is well-known by South Carolina football fans and has had a few big moments for the Gamecocks, especially last season (a 100-yard shoeless kick return touchdown against Texas A&M and a toe-tapping score in the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame come to mind).
However, with the influx of pass-catching talent to the roster this offseason, Legette’s name has not been brought up as often as it should. Newcomers Trey Knox, Joshua Simon, and Nyck Harbor have joined Juice Wells as players who have been discussed more than Legette as targets for quarterback Spencer Rattler.
Seeing how Rattler, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, and wide receivers coach Justin Stepp utilize Legette could be a big indicator of the direction of the new-look Carolina offense. There are lots of newcomers, sure, but the Gamecocks also lost Jalen Brooks, Josh Vann, and the entire tight end room from last year.
Plenty of touches will be available in the passing game, and Legette could be one of the top options to take them. He fits naturally into Brooks’ role as a player who carries the ball on end-arounds (something he also did in 2022), and his straight-line speed would work well running some of the seam routes that Vann found success with (like his 60-yard score against Tennessee).
How Legette and fellow super seniors Ahmarean Brown and Eddie Lewis are utilized in the offense in fall camp likely will show South Carolina football fans what they can expect from what the personnel groupings might look like when the Battle of the Carolinas kicks off the season on College GameDay.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
EDGE/Linebacker Bryan Thomas, Jr.
One of the top performers in the Garnet and Black Spring Game was sophomore pass rusher Bryan Thomas, Jr. An undersized EDGE player (under 240 pounds), Thomas was not expected to play a large role for the Gamecocks until his standout performance this spring.
The son of 11-year NFL EDGE player Bryan Thomas, Sr., it should not be a surprise that the younger Thomas is a very good athlete who uses elite quickness and bend to get around offensive tackles and surprising footspeed to chase down the football.
The elder Thomas played alongside former Gamecock great John Abraham in New York, and both of the Jets’ pass rushers had a knack for knocking the ball from the hands of opposing quarterbacks. Thomas, Jr. has the athletic makeup to be that same type of disruptive turnover-causing pest if things go well for him in his continued development.
Almost a guarantee to get some snaps in obvious passing situations, Thomas’ play this fall could go a long way in seeing if he will have an even bigger role in the defense once the season begins. Can he hold up against the run as a defensive end? Will he get some snaps as a traditional linebacker? Fall camp will help show fans the answers to those questions.
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
The Unheralded Freshmen
Several players in the Gamecocks’ 2023 recruiting class have been talked about a lot this offseason. Wide receiver Nyck Harbor, running back DJay Braswell, linebacker Pup Howard, EDGE Desmond Umeozulu, and even quarterback LaNorris Sellers are expected to play prominent roles on the team this season. However, there are other Gamecock freshmen worth watching this fall.
Jalon Kilgore is one of the most impressive young players on the team, and as good as Freshman All-American safeties Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith are, Kilgore could still see some snaps this season. If Kilgore is too good to keep off the field, look for Smith to get some snaps at nickel so that the freshman can play, too.
Another high-upside defensive back newcomer is Judge Collier. Not heavily recruited out of Rock Hill, Collier has already shown some strong potential in his short time in Columbia thanks to his physicality and competitiveness. Can he force his way into the two-deep somewhere in the secondary?
Trovon Baugh was one of three 4-star offensive linemen in last year’s class. Markee Anderson is expected to play some this year, and Oluwatosin “Tree” Babalade is a high-ceiling player for the future. However, Baugh could also be a factor this year as he could be a force if he buys into Luke Day’s strength and conditioning program.
Wide receiver Elijah Caldwell is not as big or as fast as Nyck Harbor, but he has a great feel for the game and is a smart route-runner who also has good hands and quickness. Around 6’0″ tall, he is big enough to play outside in certain situations and quick enough to play in the slot. Caldwell has the chance to leap over some of the other young receivers on the depth chart with a good fall.
Vicari Swain is a dynamic athlete who shot up the recruiting rankings in the months leading up to the early Signing Day last year. He will begin his career as a defensive back, and with the uncertainty at corner, his fluidity and “just go play ball” ability could push him into a spot in the two-deep sooner rather than later.
Kamron Sandlin was a high school quarterback who was expected to play tight end for the Gamecocks. However, with the influx of talent at tight end and the lack of depth at running back for South Carolina football, he has moved to running back. He will compete with Newberry transfer Mario Anderson and fellow freshman DJay Braswell for carries behind presumed starter Dakereon Joyner and scatback Juju McDowell.
Freshmen tight ends Reid Mikeska and Connor Cox both have outside shots of playing this fall. Mikeska is more of a receiving option, and Cox is more of a hand-in-the-dirt tight end who can block, but both players are talented and could become factors if an injury takes place or if one of the pass-catching tight ends is needed to play more of a receiver role.