W
Wes Mitchell
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** South Carolina's players who are sticking around for classes and internships during May will officially start the summer workout program next week once exams conclude this week. From what I've been told, around 50-55 guys (unofficial number) are expected to be on campus for Maymester and the rest of the team will be back in June for the first Summer semester. That was key last season for South Carolina's offensive line in particular to get in the extra weight room time and will be key with young players this season.
** Freshman linebacker Rosendo Louis arrived on campus in January with the type of physical stature that got people talking and I'm told he looks like a completely different person now compared to when he enrolled. He has lost a lot of the baby fat he carried a few months ago and replaced it with lean muscle. Louis was already working as the backup at the MIKE linebacker spot and I suspect he's got a chance to play similar snaps this season to Sherrod Greene as a freshman last year and T.J. Brunson as a freshman the season before.
I would say that Louis, J.J. Enagbare, Israel Mukuamu and Deshaun Fenwick are still the four early enrollees I've heard the most buzz about since January.
** Injury wise, South Carolina hopes to be close to full strength by mid-summer with the hope that guys most of the guys who missed the spring will be 100 percent or close to it by July.
I've been told that freshman running back Lavonte Valentine is progressing nicely from his ACL surgery and in all likelihood will redshirt this season, but will be available to help out on the practice squad by August. Wide receiver Chad Terrell is progressing faster than expected from his ACL surgery and he will most likely be fully cleared by mid-September.
** Junior running back Rico Dowdle has always been a conscientious guy, but Will Muschamp made recently public comments alluding to the belief that there's more Dowdle can do to prevent some of the nagging injures - "soft tissue issues" as Muschamp says - he’s suffered from since he’s been in Columbia. Dowdle took Muschamp’s comments about him to heart and has shown a more dedicated approach to his diet and wants to prove he's the best back on the team.
** There will naturally be some reservation about South Carolina's offensive line play until fans see it play out on the field and it's also worth pointing out that there are few, if any, truly dominant offensive lines in this league due to the quality of defensive linemen they face each week. That said, there's still quite a bit of confidence within the program right now that the Gamecocks starting five will have a realistic chance to be in the top third of the conference this year.
While none of the starters are what you would call vocal leaders, they all do things the right way and bust their tails in the weight room and on the practice field. I think most of the starting group will have at least a shot at the NFL.
** I've been told that the full expectation is for graduate transfer Shane Hynes and Parker White to compete for the starting place-kicker job and it's a battle that could go into the season. The staff will chart everything in practice and scrimmages in order to see who is the most accurate by the numbers. The belief is that Hynes will provide legit competition to White and the battle between those two throughout fall camp will be one of the more interesting battles on the team.
** Rice graduate transfer safety J.T. Ibe received his conditional acceptance letter from South Carolina recently and is set to move in at South Carolina on May 30. Again, we expect Ibe to compete for a starting spot right away and at the very least provide a veteran presence and depth at the safety position.
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