The college football season is here as South Carolina football began fall camp just over a week ago. The Gamecocks, along with most other programs across the country, are working toward finalizing depth charts, gaining comfortability with playbooks, and getting into game shape.
Fall practice is a little different from spring practice and summer workouts. With games quickly approaching, the intensity is ratcheted up just a little. Players are fighting for playing time, and, while coaches are careful to try to keep their players healthy, more and more game-like situations happen each day.
The South Carolina football program is facing many of the same questions as every other program across the country: “Which players are hurt?” “Which players will step up into a new role?” “Which transfers could impact the team?” “What about the big-time freshmen?” “How will the new coaches do in their new jobs?” are just a handful of the talking points filling up the message boards and social media feeds of college football fans everywhere.
As fall camp is about 1/3 of the way completed for the Gamecocks, what are some of the top observations from the first week and a half of fall camp?
South Carolina Football Fall Camp Observations:
The starting offensive line group could be changing.
For most of the summer since Jaylen Nichols’ injury in the Garnet and Black Spring Game, the starting offensive line was expected to be, in some combination, Jakai Moore, Nick Gargiulo, Vershon Lee, Trai Jones, and Tyshawn Wannamaker. However, a newcomer could be moving into position to snag one of those spots.
Western Illinois transfer Sidney Fugar has been spotted at practice working with the first-team at right tackle, while expected starter Tyshawn Wannamaker has been with the second group. Wannamaker has gotten some run with the first-team, but Fugar has played more snaps with the starting unit.
This is far from a completed battle, though, as Wannamaker brings a fair amount of experience at the position, having started multiple games in both 2021 and 2022 for the injured Dylan Wonnum. Wannamaker has also played some guard, so even if Fugar takes the tackle job, Wannamaker could have opportunities to play across the board up front.
For those unfamiliar with some of the newcomers, Fugar is a massive human being who looks even bigger than his listed size. Listed at 6’5″ and 330 pounds, he looks like an SEC right tackle. His length and size make him a more prototypical pass protector than Wannamaker, but it is unclear if that has anything to do with the shakeup on the O-line.
Late last week, Beamer also said that there is no set starting-five up front at this point of camp. Could freshman Markee Anderson, one of the most talked about linemen of the offseason, be making a push at one of the spots? He has repped at both guard and tackle, and the belief is that he could also play center.
So far, the only big battle seems to be at right tackle, but Coach Beamer’s comments have fans wondering if more changes could be incoming.
South Carolina Football Fall Camp Observations:
Injuries have been a factor, but nothing too serious seems to have arisen.
As is always the case in football, injuries have been a part of fall camp for the Gamecocks. Thankfully, as of now, none of them appear to be that serious.
Before fall camp began, head coach Shane Beamer announced that “other than Jaylen Nichols,” every player injured last season or during the offseason was expected to be back during fall camp and at 100% by the time the Gamecocks take on the North Carolina Tar Heels for College GameDay on September 2nd.
This means that players like defensive end Jordan Strachan, linebacker Mo Kaba, and defensive back David Spaulding should all be good to go over the next few weeks. When asked about his recovery process, Strachan repeatedly said, “I’m back” to refer to how he was feeling physically and mentally heading into the season. Kaba still has not been a full-contact participant, however.
Some new ailments have popped up for Carolina, though. Wide receiver Juice Wells, tight end Trey Knox, linebacker Stone Blanton, defensive back Peyton Williams, and wide receiver Kelton Henderson have all missed at least one practice during fall camp, and several other players have missed parts of practices. None of the injuries appear to be too serious. Wells is expected to miss another week.
These types of injuries are worth keeping an eye on, especially for players who are expected to play big roles this fall, but unless told otherwise, fans shouldn’t worry too much yet.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
Josh Simon is going to be a major factor in 2023.
There has been a lot of talk about transfer tight end Trey Knox this offseason. This is for good reason as the former Arkansas Razorback is extremely gifted and has had experience working with both new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and wide receivers coach Justin Stepp from when they coached at Arkansas.
Knox will be the starter if fully healthy this season, but South Carolina football fans need to get familiar with the name Josh Simon quickly. A dynamic receiving tight end, Simon is a South Carolina native who is hungry to show his hometown fans what he can do.
In 1-on-1 drills last week, Simon lined up against promising freshman safety Jalon Kilgore. On the fade route, Kilgore was draped all over Simon with perfect coverage, but Simon lept up and plucked the ball out of the air just inches past the outstretched fingers of Kilgore. It was just a glimpse of what #6 in garnet and black could do this year.
Even in the Garnet and Black Spring Game, Simon was one of three top targets for Gamecock quarterbacks along with Knox and Juice Wells. Fans should expect to see Simon play a lot in 2023, even if he never is listed as the starter. He’s too good to keep off the field, and that will become apparent sooner rather than later.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
The Gamecock secondary will utilize both experienced and new faces to fill the gaps left by Cam Smith and Darius Rush.
No team could possibly replace two NFL corners like Cam Smith and Darius Rush without any issue whatsoever. With that said, the Gamecock defensive back group is confident they can come close. Blending together a unique blend of experience and young talent, the Carolina secondary could be a deep group in 2023.
It will be extremely difficult for the Gamecocks to perform as well at the starting spots in the defensive backfield as they did a year ago. The team’s two starting corners were NFL Draft picks who may start as rookies, the two starting safeties were both Freshman All-Americans, and the third corner had good flashes inside at nickel and outside as a traditional corner.
Now, that third corner from last year (Marcellas Dial) will be the team’s top cover option, and unproven South Carolina native O’Donnell Fortune is the current favorite to start on the other side. The two Freshman All-Americans are back at safety, but without the lockdown work of Smith and Rush, their jobs will be harder in 2023.
Freshmen Jalen Kilgore (safety) and Vicari Swain (cornerback) have been extremely impressive both in workouts and in the early goings of fall camp. They will see time this year. Less-heralded defensive back prospect Judge Collier has also been impressive when he has repped with the reserves at both corner and safety.
Oft-injured David Spaulding is back and will play a lot at nickel (likely as the starter) if he is ready to go. Sophomores Kajuan Banks, Emory Floyd, Keenan Nelson, and Peyton Williams all will have chances to put themselves in the 2-deep across the secondary, as well.
For those counting at home, the projected starters are two underclassmen and three players in their 4th or 5th years of college. Of the next 8 players who could see time in the secondary, 7 are freshmen or sophomores. Seeing which players emerge out of the combination of experience and young talent will be an interesting subplot to monitor throughout the fall and into the season.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
So far, there has been no debate about the hierarchy at running back.
Many who care about South Carolina football have been concerned this offseason about the running back position. This concern is valid and stems from the fact that the Gamecocks lost MarShawn Lloyd (transfer portal), Christian Beal-Smith (graduation), Lovasea Carroll (medical retirement), and Rashad Amos (transfer portal) from the room this offseason.
Earlier this offseason, do-it-all playmaker Dakereon Joyner moved to running back “to help out” at the position, but it appears that #5 is going to be the starter. Experienced scat back Juju McDowell has run with the first-team offense some during camp, as well, but McDowell is not expected to play a starter’s role at just 170 pounds.
Newberry transfer Mario Anderson and true freshman DJay Braswell will have to play this year, as well, but Joyner looks to be in line to take the majority of the running back snaps in the early goings of the 2023 season.
Joyner provides a lot for the offense at running back despite the fact he lacks experience at that position. He has bulked up to 229 pounds, meaning he is the heaviest and strongest of the running backs. He has experience running routes and catching the ball from his time as a wide receiver. And he also has the ability to throw the football, something that is sure to come up at least a few times this fall.
The former quarterback/former wide receiver/former wildcat quarterback has always been at his best when he has been given the freedom to make plays. In 2019 against Georgia, Joyner came in unexpectedly and preserved a massive upset for the Gamecocks. In 2021, he was the starting quarterback against North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. In 2022, he was a big contributor against Tennessee as a wildcat quarterback. In all of these instances, there was not an overwhelming amount of structure. Instead, Joyner just played football.
When speaking about Dowell Loggains’ system, Joyner excitedly talked about how South Carolina football’s new offensive coordinator lets his players “just play football.” That sounds like a recipe for success for the sixth-year senior.
Loggains quipped during media availability last week that he didn’t “know where [the Gamecocks] would be” without Joyner. Barring some unforeseen change, Dakereon Joyner will be the Gamecocks’ starting running back this fall, and he could be in line for a big year.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
New Gamecock defensive line coach Travian Robertson brings intensity and inspiration to the entire defensive front.
When speaking to reporters last week, redshirt junior defensive tackle Alex “Boogie” Huntley sang the praises of new defensive line coach Travian Robertson. He said about the former Gamecock star, “He’s done what I want to do. He is a D-lineman. He has been in these South Carolina seats. He’s been in those NFL seats. He knows the path. He knows what it takes. He brings that intensity every day.”
Robertson is taking over a defensive tackles group that has a lot of talent. However, even with NFL Draft pick Zacch Pickens starting every game a season ago, the unit struggled in 2022, especially against the run. Huntley and fellow 4th-year player Tonka Hemingway are expected to play big roles this season, but redshirt sophomore TJ Sanders has been very impressive this offseason.
Sanders won the Rex Enright Defensive Player of the Spring Award and will battle with Huntley, Elijah Davis, and big nose tackle Nick Barrett for the starting job next to Hemingway. True freshman Xzavier McLeod and redshirt freshmen Jamaal Whyce and Felix Hixon could factor into Robinson’s rotation.
Huntley also said that one of the best parts about being coached by Robinson is that he can both “tell us” and “show us” how to do things on the field. Robertson’s experience playing for the Gamecocks and in the NFL brings something to the table that not many other coaches can bring.
There has been some cross-training this offseason between the defensive tackle spots and the defensive end spots, largely due to depth concerns at end. Hemingway, Sanders, and Davis have all gotten snaps both inside and outside this fall, but it is unclear how much any of them may actually play at defensive end.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
5-star Nyck Harbor is a special talent, but he needs some time to learn to play receiver at the college level.
There is no player in college football quite like Nyck Harbor. The former 5-star prospect is 6’5″ and weighs over 240 pounds while also having realistic Olympic sprinting dreams. Expected primarily to play wide receiver, Harbor is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses as there are simply not many humans on the planet who can match both his size and speed.
However, the Washington DC native is new to the receiver position. He is also a true freshman who has never played a down of college football or been in a college weight room until a few weeks ago. He will have an adjustment period before being comfortable and able to play at his full potential. Thankfully for Gamecock fans, he is so talented that he likely can contribute anyway.
Early reports out of fall camp have been mixed on Harbor’s production so far. He has beaten the defense over the top a handful of times, but he has also struggled to get into his routes against press coverage or when multiple defenders impede his progress.
Harbor hasn’t gotten many reps alongside USC’s top pass catchers, either. Both Juice Wells and Trey Knox have missed some time with minor injuries this fall.
South Carolina football fans have many reasons to be excited about Nyck Harbor, but they need to temper their expectations and give the inexperienced young receiver some time to adjust to playing a new position at a new level.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
True Freshmen Pup Howard, Desmond Umeozulu, and Jalen Kilgore could play a lot in 2023.
Between graduation, the NFL, and the transfer portal the 2022 South Carolina defense will only return a handful of starters for 2023. Projected starters Jordan Strachan (defensive end), Tonka Hemingway (defensive tackle), Mo Kaba (linebacker), Nick Emmanwori (safety), DQ Smith (safety), Marcellas Dial (cornerback), and David Spaulding (nickel) have all started multiple games, but there has never been a time when more than four of those players started at the same time.
Strachan, Kaba, and Spaulding are returning from serious injuries sustained in 2023, and true freshmen at all three levels have performed well enough to help fill any gaps left in the defense.
Grayson “Pup” Howard has taken some of the first-team reps at linebacker. Stone Blanton and Debo Williams have also taken some of the first-team snaps. It is unclear if Howard, Blanton, or Williams have the advantage right now as the second starter next to Mo Kaba. Kaba has not been a full participant in full-contact 11-on-11 team drills, but Beamer has said that he would be 100% for the season.
At a thin defensive end spot, Strachan is a starter, but the other spot is a bit more up in the air. Currently, older player Tyreek Johnson appears to be finally healthy and the first option at the spot, but transfer sophomore Jatius Geer and freshman Desmond Umeozulu have gotten significant opportunities to play, as well. Sophomore Bryan Thomas, Jr. will have a role this season, too.
In the secondary, Jalen Kilgore has been the most impressive newcomer. The 4-star safety has been so good, in fact, that some are wondering if DQ Smith could move to the starting nickel spot in order to get Kilgore on the field at safety. That doesn’t seem like the plan right now, but it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Other true freshmen like Vicari Swain (DB), Judge Collier (DB), Xzavier McLeod (DT), and Nyck Harbor (situational EDGE) also could carve out a role in Clayton White’s defense.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers Has Spent Most of His Time with the Third-Team.
LaNorris Sellers wasn’t the highest-rated prospect in the class of 2023, but he might have been had he not missed most of his junior season with injury. The 4-star prospect has Gamecock fans excited about what the future of the quarterback position might look like.
So far in fall camp, Sellers has spent the majority of his time with the third-team offense. Reports from practice have indicated that he has dominated these third-team matchups, especially with his legs. The dual-threat Sellers also has an extremely strong arm that he has displayed on a couple of deep balls during camp.
When asked about Sellers this offseason, both Shane Beamer and other players have expressed the belief that Sellers will play a role for the 2023 offense under new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. With backup quarterback Luke Doty also being a dual-threat option (and rumored to be taking some snaps at wide receiver, as well), it is unclear which player might fill the Dakereon Joyner role from last season now that #5 is the starting running back.
Sellers, Doty, or even Joyner, himself, could take the wildcat snaps this year. Based on the early returns in fall camp, Sellers might be the best man for that job, but Beamer and Loggains will have to determine if that role is worth burning Sellers’ redshirt (players can play in 4 regular season games and still redshirt).
The bespectacled freshman Sellers has been good enough so far to make the staff think about playing him this year, and that should have fans excited to see what he can do, both this year and beyond.
South Carolina Football’s Fall Camp Observations:
Dowell Loggains’ Offensive Philosophy Is Very Different than Marcus Satterfield’s.
The Marcus Satterfield experience was not usually a fun one for the Carolina offense. The Gamecocks did not have much offensive success under Coach Satt, and when they did, it was only after certain restrictions were placed on the playcaller. The Gamecock offense often fell victim to self-inflicted mistakes, especially mental errors that seemed to stem from a system that was too complicated, especially for the quarterback and offensive line.
Though new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains also coached in the NFL, he will not be running a complicated NFL scheme like Satterfield. Players have talked all offseason about how much more comfortable they are in Loggains’ system due to its simplicity. That talk has continued this fall, and the fruit has been seen in fall practice.
One of Loggains’ big points of emphasis in previous press conferences was that he would be committed to getting the ball to good players, no matter what it took. In offensive team periods so far during camp, there has been a lot of chatter about how good Josh Simon and Xavier Legette have looked.
Projected starter at center Vershon Lee has talked about how the simplicity of Loggains’ offense has made his transition from guard to center easier. Eric Douglas’ departure to the NFL has been a big talking point this offseason as much for his mental prowess as his blocking ability, so hearing Lee express his confidence in understanding the offense and captaining the line is a good sign.
“12 personnel” (one back, two tight ends) has been a popular look in camp, and with Simon and Knox both serving as legitimate receiving threats from the tight end spot, that makes sense. Typically, with the two tight ends on the field, there has only been one (at most) that has been attached to the offensive line.
Loggains’ “multiple” offense will have some different characteristics from other schemes, but its air raid-like plan to go fast and to get the football in playmakers’ hands (whether by run or by pass) will be fun to watch progress this fall and into the start of the 2023 season.