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South Carolina’s annual Garnet and Black spring football game is set to kick off at 7 Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. It is one of the more highly-anticipated spring games for the program in recent memory as head coach Shane Beamer and his staff have added plenty of new players on both sides of the ball and because it is a night game and part of a weekend of festivities, a large crowd is expected. Spring football games do not tell you much, but they can tell you some things, particularly when it comes to individual evaluations. They are not a predictor of in-season success in any way, but you can get a loose idea on certain players and aspects of the team. So with that, here are 11 things to look for Saturday night at Willams-Brice.
Rules-wise, spring games are usually skewed toward the offense, so Saturday will be a good opportunity for new quarterback Spencer Rattler to let it rip and make some big plays vertically. In addition to Rattler, fans should keep an eye on newcomer receiver Antwane Wells and returning players Ahmarean Brown and Xavier Legette. Based on intel, that trio has shined this spring. Wells was a major recruiting win from the transfer portal and caught 80 passes at James Madison last season. Brown and Legette have built on promising finishes to the 2021 season.
Running back Marshawn Lloyd has had a rough first couple of seasons in Columbia. He was set to be the starter as a true freshman in 2020 when he tore his ACL in preseason practice. Then, last season it seemed every time he got going in a game, there was a missed block or something else that went wrong. Prior to Carolina’s 38-21 win against North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, he had had his best week of practice before a minor injury kept him out of the contest. This spring, though, Lloyd has appeared primed to re-take the No. 1 spot at running back and has shown the elite burst, footwork, vision and cutting ability that made him a five-star recruit per some networks coming out of Dematha in the D.C. area. He has the opportunity to showcase that Saturday night.
Rattler certainly will get some work in, but in spring games all quarterbacks play. Luke Doty is still working his way back, so it is unknown if he will get some action Saturday. True freshman Braden Davis has gotten a ton of valuable reps this spring, along with second-year player Colten Gauthier. It’s always good to see how the signal callers behind the starter look. As we all know, it’s never a bad thing to have quality depth at the most important position on the field.
Speaking of depth, one of the challenges for new tight ends coach Jody Wright this spring has been to find players that can help at his position beyond Traevon Kenion. Granted, Oklahoma transfer Austin Stogner arrives soon and is expected to make a big impact. But, with Jaheim Bell playing more of a “wide back” role this season, depth is needed in case of injury. Offensive lineman Wyatt Campbell and receiver Chad Terrell have both worked with this position group this spring. It will be interesting to track that pair, along with some walk-ons like Jesse Sanders, to see if any can be counted on for depth this season.
While Lloyd is certainly a player to track, South Carolina has two new running backs that arrived via the transfer portal. Christian Beal-Smith was the leading rusher at Wake Forest last season and is expected to be a big part of the offense. Lovasea Carroll is a talented athlete who signed with Georgia in the 2021 class, spent last season at cornerback in Athens and now will go back to running back for the Gamecocks. Both players can be exciting with the ball in their hands and should get opportunities Saturday night to showcase that.
Will Dakereon Joyner line up as a receiver? “wide back”? quarterback? The do-it-all upperclassman shined as a signal caller in the Mayo Bowl, but has been playing mostly receiver this spring. If he’s a receiver, how much improvement has he shown at that position? Joyner is one of the leaders of the football team and has a “do anything” attitude, so it will be interesting to see exactly where he fits in with the 2022 offense. Chances are… he will indeed be doing a little bit of everything.
Defenses play base most of the time in the spring game. Offenses keep it somewhat vanilla. That’s why you can’t really get a beat on the forthcoming season with a spring game. I mean, during the actual game portion of last year’s spring game, the Carolina offense lined up and pushed the defense down the field running the ball primarily between the tackles and could not be stopped. Obviously, the offense struggled to do that for a large portion of the 2022 season. So, it’s a good rule of thumb to focus on one-on-one matchups. A receiver beats a defensive back deep for a long touchdown? Well, who was he matched up against. An edge rusher explodes off the ball and blows a play up? Who was the offensive lineman that he beat? One-on-ones are important in football. You have to win those battles to win games, so that is an area to focus on Saturday night.
The evening kickoff, along with the excitement that has been generated by the big finish in 2021 and the player additions this offseason means that there’s a strong chance that there is a big-time spring game atmosphere Saturday night. The South Carolina coaching staff will have a slew of important recruits visiting, so if the crowd is as good as expected, know that that makes an impact.
As things stand today, it’s a safe bet that veteran R.J. Roderick and portal addition Devonni Reed are the two starters at safety. Behind them, it’s once again a question mark. Second-year transfer Tyrese Ross and a pair of freshmen, Anthony Rose and Peyton Williams, are all players to watch here, along with several walk-ons and whoever else they decide to give a shot back there. Ross is a physical player. Rose and Williams were both highly-touted recruits (three star prospects per 247Sports composite, but at least one network each had them as four stars) from two football hotbeds- Rose is from Miami, Williams from the Dallas Metroplex. Rose has spent some time at cornerback this spring. Regardless, finding quality depth at this spot is going to be paramount for the 2022 season.
You speak with contacts within the program and Sanders name comes up often. Beamer even mentioned him during a recent press conference and said that the second-year jumbo athlete from Marion started to really come on in October of 2021. Sanders is 6-foot-5, 305 pounds and can move. If you are looking for a player that did not see action last year that could make an impact in 2022, circle Sanders. It will be interesting to see how he performs Saturday night.
Just like at safety, it’s a safe bet that Carolina’s starters on the edge will be Jordan Strachan and Jordan Burch. Strachan made multiple big plays in 2021 and had an outstanding bowl game. Burch had his moments as well in what was realistically his first full season of college football. Behind those two, keep an eye on N.C. State transfer Terrell Dawkins, Gilber Edmond and Tyreek Johnson. If that trio can come on, then depth at EDGE will not be the issue that it seems to be at this point.
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