South Carolina Football: 10 players the Gamecocks will need to see step up after the Bye Week
By Kevin Miller
10 players South Carolina Football must have step up after the Bye Week:
A Freshman Wide Receiver
South Carolina football seems to have a pretty clear pecking order at wide receiver. Xavier Legette is the top dog right now. Ahmarean Brown will get the majority of the snaps in the slot when he is healthy. O’Mega Blake, Luke Doty, and Eddie Lewis are going to play. Juice Wells is obviously an important part of the mix when he is healthy.
Other than that, though, the Gamecocks don’t really play anyone else. Wide receiver is a rotational position, meaning that teams must play five guys or more each game in order to keep all the pass catchers fresh. Wide receivers coach Justin Stepp needs some guys to emerge from his position group to help out, not as game-breakers, necessarily, but as contributors.
The most obvious candidates are two true freshmen. Nyckoles Harbor is a special talent who, at 6’5″ and 240 pounds is among the fastest sprinters in the country. Tyshawn Russell is fast, too, and he is a smooth route-runner who can play inside in the slot or out wide.
South Carolina football fans are clamoring for Harbor to play. As a 5-star prospect in the 2023 class, he is one of the most well-known freshmen on the team, and he hasn’t seen a lot of action this season. When he has played, he has only had one ball thrown his way, a touchdown from fellow freshman LaNorris Sellers against Furman late in the game.
Russell has played about the same amount as Harbor but has seemed to have an easier time getting open as he has 4 catches across three games.
Based on snaps so far this season, other candidates for playing time could be redshirt freshman Kylic Horton, former walk-on Payton Mangrum, or even hybrid tight end/receiver Josh Simon.
Regardless of who it is, the Gamecocks need more players to step up at a receiver position that seems to struggle to get open quickly. With the Carolina offensive line being the poor pass blocking unit that it is, getting open quickly must be a priority moving forward, and the Gamecocks have to find guys who can do it consistently and/or make sure that the rotation is deep enough that the starters are fresh enough to handle the duties.