W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
** With the football season now eight days away the Gamecocks are officially done with preseason camp and on a "game week" with their preparations for the opener against North Carolina. There are still a couple of position battles that are ongoing and will go throughout the season, but for the most part the depth chart has become clear as the staff looks to narrow down the reps.
** Lost in all of the talk about the position battle for the backup quarterback role is the job that Jake Bentley did during the final week or so of camp. I'm told that as camp came to a close and the game week approached that Bentley appeared to take his game to another level in practice and distance himself from the two backups. Most importantly, he took care of the football in the two scrimmages and that's obviously been a big focus this offseason.
** Will Muschamp: “Dakereon (Joyner) is still playing quarterback at South Carolina but also wants to help us in other ways on the football team. He handled this thing in a first-class manner, which is all he does as a human being. I’m very appreciative in him trusting us as a staff moving forward. We’re excited about the things he’s going to do for South Carolina football.”
That's Muschamp's comment from his call-in show on Thursday and it's safe to say that there's some intentional vagueness there in how the Gamecocks plan to use Joyner moving forward. I can say three things, though. There is definitely a plan in place for Joyner to make an impact on this football team. He has bought in to the plan and has been a positive, team-first guy about everything that has played out in the last week or so. He's looked good in the role that they've designed for him. It's something that I believe will evolve as the season progresses.
** Here's my take on the final position battles that are playing out on game week and my opinion has changed a bit on a couple of these in the last week or so.
I get the impression that Josh Vann may edge out OrTre Smith for the start in Week 1. Smith has had some big-play splashes in camp, but as Bryan McClendon mentioned to the media this week, Smith is still trying to catch up mentally as far as completely trusting the knee as he returns from injury. Vann has gone from a freshman who was still trying to figure everything out a year ago to a sophomore who has gone the extra mile in the offseason to go above and beyond what it asked in order to improve himself. That's a big deal for him and puts him in position to make an impact this season.
I've heard several didn't takes on who will get the first snap at running back, but I think right now I'd lean towards Rico Dowdle, though it's really more of a 1A and 1B thing. The way McClendon talked up Dowdle earlier this week is playing into my thinking there and as a the returning senior versus the incoming senior, I think there are some tie-breaking elements there. Either way, those are probably your first two guys with Mon Denson third and Kevin Harris fourth on the depth chart.
I think you can consider Aaron Sterling and J.J. Enagbare as 1A and 1B at defensive end and who takes the first snap doesn't really matter as much as who plays the best. But I get the impression that the older Sterling will get the start there. I suspect Kobe Smith gets the start at defensive tackle alongside Javon Kinlaw.
** We've talked up Jammie Robinson all offseason, so it should come as no surprise that Muschamp said Thursday that he would be the starter at nickel if the season started today. Robinson's coverage ability is what sets him apart. He's truly a cornerback in a safety's body which makes him a perfect for that spot. He's got a chance to not only play, but play well this year and contend for freshman All-SEC honors.
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