South Carolina Football: Changes to the depth chart mirror fans’ desires

Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football squad outlasted Mississippi State in an offensive shootout that felt as if it should have yielded more points than the 37-30 final score. Both teams landed haymaker after haymaker as long passing plays were commonplace against the two secondaries.

In addition to the big night of connections of Spencer Rattler to Xavier Legette and Will Rogers to Tulu Griffin, the South Carolina football fans in attendance at Williams-Brice Stadium witnessed some other things that made them very happy.

After weeks of poor play on the offensive line and a non-existent running game through the first three weeks of the season, the Gamecock Faithful had been calling for personnel changes to help kickstart the ground attack.

They got their wish on Saturday.

Mario Anderson did not start the game at running back, but the Newberry College transfer got the bulk of the carries as he logged 88 hard-earned yards against a good Mississippi State front seven. The most underperforming offensive lineman on the team (Sidney Fugar) was benched in favor of Tyshawn Wannamaker at right tackle, and high-upside freshman Tro Baugh got a lot of snaps at right guard. True freshman Tree Babalade also earned his second start at left tackle.

Now, heading into Tennessee week, the Gamecock depth chart reflects some potential permanence to those changes.

Stemming from a Monday release, the South Carolina football depth chart can be seen below:

*** “OR” indicates an active position battle.

*** Nothing is binding about this depth chart.

*** Injuries may or may not be reflected on the depth chart. Players like Juice Wells and Cason Henry are not expected to play and are not on the two-deep, but Ahmarean Brown who is questionable made the depth chart (and made it last week before not playing).

*** Some starters could move around if needed. When Vershon Lee left last week’s game after his helmet came off, Nick Gargiulo moved over to center for a play, and Trai Jones entered at guard.

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Spencer Rattler (Luke Doty)
Running Back: Mario Anderson OR Dakereon Joyner (Juju McDowell)
Wide Receiver: O’Mega Blake (Tyshawn Russell)
Wide Receiver: Xavier Legette (Nyck Harbor)
Wide Receiver: Ahmarean Brown (Eddie Lewis)
Tight End: Trey Knox (Nick Elksnis)
Tight End: Josh Simon (Connor Cox)
Left Tackle: Tree Babalade (Jaxon Hughes)
Left Guard: Nick Gargiulo (Trai Jones)
Center: Vershon Lee (Grayson Mains)
Right Guard: Jakai Moore OR Tro Baugh
Right Tackle: Tyshawn Wannamaker OR Sidney Fugar

DEFENSE

Defensive Tackle: Tonka Hemingway (TJ Sanders)
Defensive Tackle: Boogie Huntley (Nick Barrett)
Defensive End: Tyreek Johnson OR JT Geer OR Elijah Davis
EDGE/Outside Linebacker: Jordan Strachan OR Bryan Thomas, Jr. OR Desmond Umeozulu
Mike Linebacker: Stone Blanton (Pup Howard)
Will Linebacker: Debo Williams (Bam Martin-Scott)
Nickel: Keenan Nelson, Jr. (David Spaulding OR KaJuan Banks)
Cornerback: Marcellas Dial (Emory Floyd)
Cornerback: O’Donnell Fortune (Judge Collier)
Strong Safety: Nick Emmanwori (King-Demenian Ford)
Free Safety: DQ Smith (Jalon Kilgore)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker: Mitch Jeter (Alex Herrera)
Punter: Kai Kroeger (Alex Herrera)
Long Snapper: Hunter Rogers (Cole Rasmussen)
Holder: Kai Kroeger (William Joyce)
Kick Returner: Xavier Legette, Dakereon Joyner OR Juju McDowell)
Punt Returner: Ahmarean Brown (Eddie Lewis)