South Carolina Football: What you shouldn’t believe on the new (unchanged) depth chart

The South Carolina football program released an official depth chart ahead of the Florida game this weekend.

It is unchanged from the one released before the Tennessee game.

The complete South Carolina football depth chart is listed below:

***Starters are listed first with backups in parentheses.
***”OR” is used to signify an ongoing position battle.

OFFENSE

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

DEFENSE

Defensive Tackle: Tonka Hemingway (TJ Sanders)
Defensive Tackle: Boogie Huntley (Nick Barrett)
Defensive End: Tyreek Johnson OR Jatius Geer OR Elijah Davis
EDGE/Outside Linebacker: Jordan Strachan OR Bryan Thomas, Jr. OR Desmond Umeozulu
Will Linebacker: Debo Williams (Bam Martin-Scott)
Mike Linebacker: Stone Blanton (Pup Howard)
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)

The depth chart is the same as two weeks ago, but when the South Carolina football team took on Tennessee, several positions did not mirror the depth chart. Coaches are not obligated to present accurate depth charts, so gamesmanship sometimes plays a role in what gets released.

Below are a few of the potential depth chart inconsistencies South Carolina football fans might see in this weekend’s game against Florida.

• Mario Anderson drew the start and was the lead back against Tennessee despite being an “OR” starter with DK Joyner. Make no mistake, there is no real “OR” involved: Mario Anderson is the starter.
• Trovon Baugh appears to be the starter at right guard. Jakai Moore was banged up and didn’t play last week, and it seems counterproductive to Baugh’s development to pull him from the lineup, especially because he has not been a downgrade.
  • Moore, if healthy, could also factor into the right tackle job. Tyshawn Wannamaker had a tough night against UT, and Coach Beamer mentioned that Sidney Fugar might get another look.
• TJ Sanders started at defensive tackle over Tonka Hemingway against Tennessee. He got a little banged up against the Vols, and Hemingway played pretty well, so who will actually start is unknown. However, regardless of who starts the game, neither Sanders nor Hemingway are “backups” and could even play at the same time.
• Jordan Strachan is the starter at the defensive end/outside linebacker spot.
• Keenan Nelson has been the “starter” at nickel but has barely played since getting hurt against Furman. Whether due to being hurt or surpassed in the rotation, Nelson doesn’t seem to be slated for a big role, especially not at nickel.
  • Jalon Kilgore’s emergence as an SEC-caliber safety has caused DQ Smith, Nick Emmanwori, and David Spaulding to get some run at nickel to make room for Kilgore at safety. Emmanwori got most of the snaps inside against Tennessee and could be in line to repeat that against Florida.
• Ahmarean Brown is the listed starter at punt returner. Eddie Lewis, however, spelled Brown at the spot against Tennessee as Brown was coming off of an injury and was not 100% healthy.
• Juice Wells is not on the depth chart, but he has not been ruled out for the game. Beamer has called him “doubtful,” but if he is ready to play, he will assume a starting role. This isn’t very likely to happen against Florida, but it is not outside of the realm of possibility.