3 Position Groups to Watch

Three Position Groups to Watch

 

1. Wide Receiver

Reminiscent of the 2012 Gamecocks receiving corps, the starting group is small, but mighty and has some nice depth.

The three starters are all transfers with the biggest, Vandrevius Jacobs, being 6’0” 195-pounds. I’m most excited to see the versatile Jared Brown who has been overlooked in preseason talk as he’s really the best pure receiver on the team at this point.

Freak athlete Nyck Harbor is listed as a back-up and all eyes will be on him once he gets in the game. The Gamecocks frankly need an athlete like Harbor to be able to win against SEC competition this season but Harbor needs to show consistency in real action early in the season in order for his role to increase in bigger matchups.

What to watch for..

Which receiver does LaNorris Sellers show favoritism toward? This could differ from practice to game action.

Which type of throws is LaNorris hitting the best? If Sellers is struggling deep, the quick-route receivers will be the stars of the show, for example.

Do any of the receivers have missed opportunities that could affect their future playing time? This could be drops, incorrectly ran routes, or a missed block.

These are important things to observe as the coaches look to dial-in their personnel and play calling ahead of a big week two matchup with Kentucky.

 

2. Defensive Line

The Gamecocks posted a starting depth chart in the 4-2-5 defensive personnel. The key here will be how often the Gamecocks defensive ends can win their matchups in the four-man front and how often the unit switches between 4-2-5 and 3-3-5.

Old Dominion has a 6’9”, 328-pound left tackle so the coaches will have their eyes on which defensive end(s) can win this match up. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the coaches put at least three Gamecocks edge players in one-on-one tests here. 

On the interior, South Carolina has a glaring advantage from an athleticism standpoint with Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders, and Alex Huntley, and even with the rotational players. How well these guys can make plays against the run will be highly indicative of the unit’s strengths heading into Kentucky in week two.

In the three-man front, look for Hemingway to shine and the true edge players to fight for locking in the other end spot. Early money should be on transfer Kyle Kennard but Jatius Geer has been a sleeper.

Not to be overlooked, true freshman phenom Dylan Stewart will get plenty of action and I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a breakout game in his debut.

 

3. Secondary

This is the unit I have the most question marks going into the 2024 season. However, given the matchup with Old Dominion, the formula is pretty simple for the secondary: no explosives!

The responsibilities of the safeties and nickel will vary as the front switches from 4-3 to the 3-3 and I’ll be watching for which players show disciplined play between the two.

The safety group includes talent and experience but also showed highly inconsistent play last season. Nick Emmanwori is one of the most intimidating safeties in the country at 6’3”, 227-pounds, while DQ Smith and Jalon Kilgore also have good size for their positions. Stopping the run won’t be any issue here. However, will they let up any deep passes over the top? This can really only happen due to mistakes against inferior competition.

At cornerback, we have big-question marks. O’Donnell Fortune is a solid starter and looks to prove he’s a true number one SEC corner. This means fewer than 3 catches allowed in his area in week one. Opposite Fortune, there is some promising young talent that will greatly benefit from this warm-up game. Look for at least five corners to get playing time in this one and they’ll all look to outperform each other in their respective game grades. Likewise to the safety spot, giving up explosive plays to Old Dominion would be damning for any corner looking to solidify playing time going into week two and beyond.

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