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Wilds and Williams challenging to be South Carolina’s newest work horses
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About five years ago, a group in South Carolina re-introduced Marsh Tacky horse racing to the Palmetto State. The Marsh Tacky horse was bred to be bigger, faster and able to withstand the squelchy conditions of South Carolina’s wetlands and beaches.
Around the same time upstate, South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier — a man who famously carved out a playing and coaching career throwing the ball — began assembling a stable of proverbial horses of his own. Now the Head Ball Coach is looking for his next big marsh tacky mare — or mares, for that matter in Brandon Wilds and David Williams.
The Gamecocks backfield returned to national prominence beginning in 2010 with Marcus Lattimore and his eventual successor Mike Davis. The duo combined for 5,117 yards and 60 touchdowns during that span and barreled their way up to No. 5 and No. 8 on the program’s all-time rushing list, respectively.
Davis (982 yards in 2014) followed Lattimore’s NFL draft path to the San Francisco 49ers. Now the Gamecocks turn to Wilds and Williams to take the reins of the squad’s rushing attack, which last year slipped to fourth in SEC East in total rushing.
“I need two horses. I don’t need a horse and a mule, I need two horses,” said South Carolina running backs coach Everette Sands via 247Sports. “I definitely have two horses in David and Brandon. The question is who is going to be the one to run out there first?”
Wilds appears to have the slight edge over Williams, but the level of separation generally varies by the day. Both tailbacks figure to split carries as starting running backs 1A and 1B.
Wilds and Williams aren’t your traditional pairing of speed and power as often seen in many running back tandems. Instead, Wilds (6-foot-2, 216 pounds) and Williams (6-foot-1, 222 pounds) are sewn from the same cloth. Both combine size with blistering speed, which should allow the Gamecocks to wear defenses out by never letting their foot off the gas pedal.
With four quarterbacks slugging it out in fall camp to win the starting spot, South Carolina’s running game will need to serve as a stabilizing force as the eventual starter surely experiences his share of growing pains.
Wilds gets the nod based mostly out of his experience and familiarity (32 career games) with the Gamecocks offense. The senior was thrust into action during his freshman year to replace Lattimore, who suffered a grisly leg injury. In Lattimore’s place, Wilds rushed for 411 yards (526 all-purpose) and 3 touchdowns as South Carolina finished 4-1 down the stretch to claim the first 11-win season in Gamecocks history.
Then, because life is cruel, a high ankle sprain forced Wilds to redshirt his sophomore season. Injuries (ankle, knee, shoulder, elbow and hamstring) would take their toll in 2013 and 2014 and prove limiting. Still, Wilds was able to tally 570 yards (1,277 career) and 4 touchdowns in a backup role last year.
Williams put up 256 yards of his own and 2 touchdowns during his inaugural season in Columbia — having previously turned down scholarship offers from Auburn and Tennessee, as well as Arizona, Ohio State and Miami. Highly-touted out of Philadelphia, Gamecock coaches named Williams their Most-Improved Running Back in this year’s spring camp.
Spurrier has been throwing the ball less in recent seasons, despite the fact that last year’s quarterback Dylan Thompson (also on the San Francisco 49ers now, weirdly enough) set the Gamecocks single-season record for passing yards with 3,574 yards in the air.
The natural inclination will be for the new quarterback — be it Connor Mitch, Perry Orth, Michael Scarnecchia or Lorenzo Nunez — to lean heavily on Pharoh Cooper. But expect Cooper to see plenty of double-team and creative coverage packages to account for the All-SEC First Team wide receiver. That makes a strong rushing presence vital.
The Gamecocks rushed the ball 473 times last season, with the top three backs (Davis, Wilds and Williams) accounting for 350 of those attempts. If Wilds can get between 175 to 200 carries this season, at his current pace of 5.4 yards-per-carry, the senior stands to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. Williams, who clocks in at 5.7 per carry, can also challenge for the 1,000-yard plateau. It won’t be easy by any means, especially in the SEC where Arkansas’ Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins were the only teammates to accomplish the feat last season.
Both backs also have excellent hands out of the backfield, creating even more weaponry for the new quarterback. Helping move the chains will be an older, reshuffled offensive line that returns three starters and two others with game experience.
They’re tasked with opening lanes for Wilds and Williams and a fairly deep stable of backups led by Shon Carson. Carson (5-foot-8, 204 pounds) is smaller, but even faster than Wilds and Williams. The redshirt senior will provide a nice relief for the duo and very little rest for worn-out defenses. Carson will also compete to return kicks and has even worked out in the slot, giving Spurrier several nice options to utilize his speed.
If everyone can stay healthy — which they are right now — the South Carolina running attack could be one that surprises some teams in 2015. Much of it depends, however, how fast they can burst from the starting gate.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
