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Steve Spurrier is as brash as ever. That we already knew.
What we didn’t know as South Carolina entered the 2015 fall camp was plenty about a Gamecocks team that under-achieved greatly last year.
Among the issues plaguing Spurrier’s squad were holes that needed filling at quarterback, wide receiver and just about everywhere on defense. The Head Ball Coach and his assistants have diligently been working on righting their program since finishing 7-6 last year and feel like they can be the surprise of the SEC East. Are they right? Time will tell.
Here are five things we learned about the Gamecocks since fall camp started:
1. The Connor Mitch era has arrived … for now
Connor Mitch is the heir apparent to fill the void left by Connor Shaw and then Dylan Thompson at quarterback. The redshirt sophomore won the job after a tight battle with Perth Orth, Michael Scarnecchia and Lorenzo Nunez. He might have only attempted six passes during his brief career in Columbia, but Mitch, it should be noted, was rated just as high, if not higher than Shaw and Thompson coming out of high school.
The Raleigh, N.C., native will get his first career start in Week 1 against North Carolina in Charlotte. With three capable quarterbacks behind him on the depth chart and a head coach in Steve Spurrier who won’t hesitate to yank the young signal caller, Mitch will need to play well right out of the gate for the Gamecocks.
2. Return of the pass rush
The South Carolina rush defense was brutal last year and not in the good way. The Gamecocks registered a paltry 14 sacks in 2014. By comparison, SEC-leader Missouri had 44.
But, all of a sudden the group is deeper, experienced and dynamic and just might not finish dead last in the SEC again this season.
The biggest addition comes in the form of 6-foot-3, 264-pound DE Marquavius “Qua” Lewis. The Hutchinson (Kansas) College transfer was the Jayhawk Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year winner (20.5 TFL, 11.0 sacks) in 2014. His presence immediately upgrades the Gamecocks defensive line.
The Gamecocks will also be breaking in two new talented prep stars Dexter Wideman and Shameik Blackshear. Wideman is a four-star recruit who was dubbed the top prep school recruit in the nation by 247Sports. Blackshear was an Under Armour All-American. Senior Cedrick Cooper has drawn rave reviews this offseason. He’ll provide depth on the line with returning veterans Philip Dukes and half-brothers Gerald Dixson and Gerald Dixon Jr. The former Dixon (not junior) tied Jordan Diggs for the team lead in sacks last year with 2.0.
New co-defensive coordinator in Jon Hoke should have plenty of tools to improve a unit that can’t do much worse.
3. Transfers to make immediate impact
South Carolina saw a mass exodus this offseason as 10 players from last year’s squad jumped ship to other schools. CB Wesley Green signed with Indiana, while Kaiwan Lewis is now with Rutgers. Shaq Roland transferred to Prairie View in Texas, but reports now suggest his career might be over. Sure that left some holes to fill and made the Gamecocks much younger, but it also opened up slots to add some outside help of their own.
Spurrier supplemented some of the personnel losses with transfers DE Marquavius Lewis (Hutchinson Community College), S Isaiah Johnson (Kansas) and P Sean Kelly (Florida Atlantic). All three are expected to not only win starting roles, but to help shore up units that were previously thin with talent and experience.
4. New wideouts are in
The Gamecocks wide receiving corps will look much different than last year’s squad, even with first-team All-SEC member Pharoh Cooper returning. The Gamecocks released their two-deep depth chart this week and, after Cooper, there aren’t too many familiar faces. In fact, of the top six wideouts on the depth chart, only Shamier Jeffery joins Cooper as actually having caught a pass while wearing Garnet and Black.
Samuels has impressed this offseason rocketing to No. 2 on the team’s depth chart in the spring. Terry Googer pushed Carlton Heard particularly hard this offseason, losing out on the starting role about a week before Week 1. Expect the freshman to contribute this season and to develop into a mainstay, along with Samuels, for South Carolina.
Y Slot
- Pharoh Cooper
- Matrick Belton
X Slot
- Deebo Samuels
- Shamier Jeffery
B Slot
- Carlton Heard
- Terry Googer
5. A youth movement is underway in Columbia
The Gamecocks are going to be young. Of the 110 players currently listed the 2015 roster, only 16 (or less than 15 percent) are seniors. The good news is that nine or 10 of those seniors figure to be starters with another three or four, such as WR Shamier Jeffery, DE Cedrick Cooper and RB/KR Shon Carson, expected (or at least hoped) to contribute in their final campaigns in Columbia.
The Gamecocks could have up to nine true and redshirted freshmen playing as part of its two-deep on offense alone this season — and that’s not taking into account that the starting quarterback is just a sophomore. South Carolina is much older on defense, with no freshmen projected in the squad’s two-deep. Just how young are the Gamecocks, though? Spurrier could have up to 40 players on this year’s team that have never played a single snap for the Head Ball Coach.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
