South Carolina Gamecocks Football

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Gamecocks in the 2021 NFL draft

There have been 4 former South Carolina Gamecock football players projected to be taken in the 2021 NFL draft. The first on the list is Jaycee Horn, who played a very important role in the Gamecock’s secondary. He is projected to go in the first round, based off many different mock drafts. Another Gamecock who is expected to be taken in the fourth round is Israel Mukuamu, who made his biggest impact against Georgia with 3 interceptions. These 3 interceptions allowed for South Carolina to upset Georgia. Another Gamecock expected to be taken in the draft is Shi Smith. He is supposed to be taken in the 5th round. He made a huge impact on the Gamecocks, because he was the only dependable receiver on the Gamecocks. Another player from South Carolina Sadarius Hutcherson is expected to go in one of the middle rounds. He was a very important part of the South Carolina offensive line. All of these former Gamecocks will be missed and will leave gaps for the younger players to fill.

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South Carolina adds their first commitment of the 2022 class

The South Carolina Gamecocks football team just received their first commitment from the class of 2022. The commitment was from Anthony Rose, from Hallandale High School in Florida. Anthony Rose is rated as a three-star safety prospect. Rose is the 405th ranked overall prospect in the nation, and 24th ranked safety. Rose is 6 foot 4 and 180 pounds. This length reminds me of Israel Mukuamu, who was a very talented safety on the Gamecocks football team. Mukuamu will now be in the NFL draft, and is projected to be a 4th rounder. This first commitment shows that there is emphasis on the South Carolina defensive back core. This commitment is a very valuable one, because it will add more talent and depth to the defensive back position. This adds to Torrian Gray, the defensive backs coach, players he can develop. This is a very important step for the future of Shane Beamer, and the South Carolina football team.

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How many gaps will need to be filled on the South Carolina football team?

There are many gaps to fill on the South Carolina football team. This is going to be a very hard task with a weak 2021 recruiting class. There was some talent that the South Carolina football team received through the transfer portal, but the Gamecocks will struggle to fill these positions. The Gamecocks are only returning 6 starters on offense. This is very devastating, because the Gamecocks are also losing their best offensive linemen from last season, Sadarius Hutcherson. The offense seems to be the best part of South Carolina’s football team. The running back duo of Harris and Lloyd and more depth at the wide receiver position, seems to give the Gamecock offense an advantage of their defense. The Gamecock defense is only returning 3 starters from last season. This small number of players returning on defense seems like it could plague the 2021 football season. The defensive line is in pretty good shape for the 2021 season, but the defensive backs could really hurt the South Carolina team. As a Gamecock you have to trust what Shane Beamer and staff will do with the program.

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South Carolina fills 2021 recruiting class

South Carolina Football head coach Shane Beamer has finally filled his 2021 recruiting class with the division two transfer Carlins Platel. Platel chose South Carolina over Mississippi State and Coastal Carolina. Platel is a corner back and goes to a position group that really could use some depth. The defensive back core on the South Carolina football team is desperately hurting after many talented players left the South Carolina football team to go into the NFL draft. Many other players in the defensive back core have left into the transfer portal to go to other teams. Carlins Platel seems very confident in his ability to succeed on the South Carolina football team. Platel said this, “I’ll just show them with my actions. I’m going down there and I’m going to have a chip on my shoulder. People are just going to see how I do down there and that’s what’s going to tell them how it is.” Platel states that the coaches seem very excited have more depth at the defensive back position. Platel will have one more year of college football eligibility.

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Marshawn Lloyd injury update

Sadly, Gamecocks fans never got to see Marshawn Lloyd on the field last season. He injured his ACL in the second day of spring practice. Lloyd was ranked by many sports networks as a five star recruit. Lloyd was hyped by many coming into the 2020 season, until the ACL injury he faced. It seemed like it would be devastating to the Gamecocks running backs depth, but Kevin (the bus) Harris stepped up and succeeded with the Gamecocks. Lloyd will be ready for Spring practice, which is a good sign for the Gamecocks offense. This is what Shane Beamer said about Marshawn Lloyd, “He looks great. He’s a guy that during his rehab he didn’t take that time off. He got bigger and stronger, that’s obvious to see.” This update from Beamer is a good sign that Marshawn Lloyd will be close to or at the level, which he should be playing. This is exciting for the Gamecock football team and Gamecock fans.

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Comments on RBs Lloyd and Harris

It is already known that the Marshawn Lloyd and Kevin Harris RB duo will be something special next year. South Carolina football recently hired a new running backs coach, Montario Hardesty. It will be interesting to see how these backs do with a new NFL offensive game plan from new offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. This is what Montario Hardesty had to say about the talented running back duo he will be faced with, “ The other thing about those two guys after meeting this morning, those guys are very smart. That’s what you need in our system. It’s going to be running-back centric but it’s NFL style so you have to know pass protection and how to run routes and different types of zone plays with inside and outside.” Both running backs are engineering majors, which is very impressive. I think the running game will have to be the biggest part of the Gamecock offense, because these running backs need to be utilized. I am very excited to see this duo dominate the SEC next season. It will be something very special.

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Producing numbers for the Gamecocks

There are many players that seem to stand out in front of others when thinking about South Carolina football next season. Marshawn Lloyd is one of the best players on the South Carolina football team, but last offseason he was cut short of playing in the season by a torn ACL in practice. It will be interesting to see the running back duo of Marshawn Lloyd and Kevin Harris. It makes it more interesting that Kevin Harris had a 1,000 yard season, which was probably the best outcome of last season. The quarterback/wide receiver duo of Jason Brown and E.J. Jenkins from St. Francis will also be interesting to see next season with very little talent in both position groups. Jordan Burch, who was South Carolina’s best recruit out of the 2020 class, will probably receive more playing time than last season. He was playing behind J.J. Enagbare who tied the SEC for sacks last season. It will be very cool to see how the new coaches will move Jordan Burch around the field, so they can get some productivity.

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South Carolina 2021 Recruiting Class

The USA TODAY came out with the the SEC recruiting rankings after the 2021 signing day. Alabama, of course, is leading the list. South Carolina is 14th, last in the SEC. South Carolina is behind Vanderbilt, which has become the laughingstock of the SEC. This years recruiting has been devastating for the future of South Carolina football, but Beamer has already dug into the transfer portal to help produce right now. Next years recruiting class is already looking better than this years, even without the commitment from Gunner Stockton. The South Carolina program has also included a lot of good recruiters, so the future is looking good for South Carolina recruiting. It’s very common for a school to have a weak recruiting class after the firing of a head coach. Many of the recruits decommitted because of the uncertainty of wo would take over the South Carolina football program, after the firing of Muchamp.

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Gunner Stockton has committed to the Georgia Football Program

Gunner Stockton is staying in Georgia after he pledged his football talents to The University of Georgia. This is after his decommitment from the South Carolina Football program, because of the firing of head coach Will Muschamp. This is very disappointing to hear, because the quarterback room is very low and some would say lacks talent. Stockton said this about his commitment, “The day after Coach Muschamp was fired I called Coach Smart and told him I was worried about what was going on at South Carolina.” After a firing of a head coach there is bound to be some worries for a football program, but I feel very confident of the abilities Shane Beamer has. I am excited to see what Shane Beamer’s coaching staff can do with the Gamecock players, and what things they could possibly do to shake up the SEC. I do not think Stockton not coming to South Carolina will be as harmful to the program as some think.

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The Gamecocks have dipped into the FCS for a QB/WR combo

The South Carolina football program have added QB Jason Brown and WR E.J. Jenkins. Shane Beamer is very excited about these transfers. Beamer said this about the duo, “I’ve had conversations with them ever since E.J. and Jason went in the portal and really fantastic guys with some maturity and two really, really, really, really good players.” Both of these guys are experienced players and have a really good chance to start for the Gamecocks. The QB room is very small, so an experienced guy in that room will really help develop the younger quarterbacks and help the whole team.

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New Staff Members Added to the South Carolina Coaching Staff

Shaq Wilson, former South Carolina linebacker, has left Tennessee and returned to the South Carolina football program. He was previously on the South Carolina football coaching staff until he left for Tennessee in 2018. Shane Beamer is adding a lot of alumni of The University of South Carolina, and people who have had former connections with the Gamecocks. Shaq Wilson is leaving Tennessee after the school is under investigation for supposedly giving away money to recruits in McDonald’s bags. Another Addition to the team is Derrick Moore. He is a very good motivational speaker, and I am ecstatic to have him hyping up the team. I watched one of his speeches to the team, and it was very motivating. I believe that he will be a very good addition to the team. The culture is changing at The University of South Carolina, and it will show soon. 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1351975894026510338

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Coaching Staff ‘Moneyball Experiment’

The South Carolina football program has drastically changed since the end of last season. The main change is the change in coaching staff. Shane Beamer, the new head football coach, has brought in a lot of new faces to the South Carolina football program. Many are calling the new coaching staff at South Carolina a ‘Moneyball Experiment’. It’s very reasonable for people to think of this staff as a ‘Moneyball Experiment’, because many of the new coaches seem to many like they are not qualified to be an SEC coach. I have faith that Shane Beamer knows what he is doing, and that he is bringing in coaches that want to be here. Also, I feel Shane Beamer will change the culture of the South Carolina football program.

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South Carolina picks up Jordan Strachan from the transfer portal

The South Carolina football has had some pretty good moves in the transfer portal, picking up pretty good talent. This has been very beneficial for new head coach, Shane Beamer, because this past recruiting class was very weak. Jordan Strachan was tied for most sacks in the nation last season. Strachan is a very big pick up for South Carolina, because he brings a large amount to a defense, which only had 14 sacks last season. Jordan Strachan had 10.5 sacks on his own. This addition to the South Carolina football program will bring a lot of help to the defensive side of the ball, which had many opt-outs and struggles. This is a very good job by the South Carolina coaching staff, and I do not think they will be disappointed with this decision.

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Gunner Stockton decommits from South Carolina

A 5 star quarter back, Gunner Stockton recently decommitted from the University of South Carolina’s football program. This was expected to happen because of the recent offensive coordinator and head coach, Mike Bobo and Will Muschamp, leaving the program. Stockton was recruited under those coaches, and now it seems Stockton is unsure about the South Carolina football program. This is very devastating to the Gamecocks’ program, but the new head coach, Shane Beamer seems to want people included in the program that want to be there. With Stockton decommitting, and an already bad recruiting class the Gamecocks seem to be in danger in the near future.

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University of South Carolina Football Blog

STEPHEN BELCHER

SPCH 145 Spring 2021