The Future Is Now: South Carolina football freshmen who are ready to help right now
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football freshmen ready to help right now:
Linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard
Pup Howard did not play at all against North Carolina as he missed too much practice time in fall camp with an injury for the coaching staff to feel comfortable with putting him on the field against a high-powered offense.
Debo Williams and Stone Blanton have been pretty good as the starters in the middle of the defense, but with both players being relatively new to starting and with Mo Kaba being out for the entire 2023 season and Bam Martin-Scott banged up, the Gamecocks need more linebackers to step up. Pup Howard is almost guaranteed to be ready for the task.
Howard saw his first game action against Furman but didn’t play a lot. However, in his limited action, he was only three tackles off the team lead for the night. Tackling is Howard’s biggest on-field skill as a player, and it is one of the most important jobs of a linebacker.
If the big, 6’4″ linebacker is ready to contribute against the pass (both as a pass rusher and in coverage), his role should increase. Blanton and Williams played almost every snap against North Carolina, and that cannot be the reality for Clayton White’s unit moving forward.
Howard is talented enough that, if things go well for him as he is eased into the rotation, he can take over a starting spot if Blanton or Williams struggle or deal with injuries. He got some run with the first-team defense at times during the offseason, and as he gets into game shape and gets more experience under his belt, he will show Gamecock fans why his coaches think highly of him.