I'm among the numbers of Gamecock fans who have a pessimistic outlook right now, not only on this season, but next season and the Muschamp regime, in general.
While there are plenty of concerns regarding the coaching staff and administration, I'm just trying to find reasons for optimism among our current and in-coming players.
Class of 2014
Only 5 players from this class have contributed this season, and one of those is Scarnecchia, who, while contributing greatly in one game has only contributed in one game. So, we more or less lose 4 guys from this class.
Class of 2015
We have 9 players contributing from this class, and we lose 3 of them.
Class of 2016
12 guys from this class contributed, including Jamarcus King who left after last season.
Class of 2017
There are 12 guys from this class who have contributed. Two of them are seniors this year, and I guess there is a chance Javon Kinlaw leaves, but for now I assume he returns.
Class of 2018
There are 7 guys who have contributed so far in this class.
As I see it, we lose 5 starters on offense, 4 on defense.
This next part isn't entirely scientific, but it is as close as I can get with the small sample size of 4 recruiting classes at USC. The Class of 2015 stands to return 6 contributors. At most, 1 more player could step up and contribute, but most of these guys are who they are at this point.
The class of 2016 should return 11 contributors. This will include a large group of seniors/leaders. Maybe a few red-shirt juniors from this class take on a larger role.
Class of 2017 returns 10 contributors, and based on what the previous classes have done between their second and third years on campus, we can probably expect at least 4 or 5 new players to step up and contribute from this class.
Class of 2018 returns 7 contributors, and based on previous classes, we should expect another 6-7 to step into contributing roles next year.
Class of 2019: Who knows? If I had to guess, based on ratings and position need, I'd expect 8-9 of these guys to contribute next year.
All told, I think we will return close to 75% of the players who contributed to this (lack-luster) year, but should pick up another 17-19 contributors to replace the 10 who leave. That should, at the least, mean better depth and a little more talent.
While there are plenty of concerns regarding the coaching staff and administration, I'm just trying to find reasons for optimism among our current and in-coming players.
Class of 2014
Only 5 players from this class have contributed this season, and one of those is Scarnecchia, who, while contributing greatly in one game has only contributed in one game. So, we more or less lose 4 guys from this class.
Class of 2015
We have 9 players contributing from this class, and we lose 3 of them.
Class of 2016
12 guys from this class contributed, including Jamarcus King who left after last season.
Class of 2017
There are 12 guys from this class who have contributed. Two of them are seniors this year, and I guess there is a chance Javon Kinlaw leaves, but for now I assume he returns.
Class of 2018
There are 7 guys who have contributed so far in this class.
As I see it, we lose 5 starters on offense, 4 on defense.
This next part isn't entirely scientific, but it is as close as I can get with the small sample size of 4 recruiting classes at USC. The Class of 2015 stands to return 6 contributors. At most, 1 more player could step up and contribute, but most of these guys are who they are at this point.
The class of 2016 should return 11 contributors. This will include a large group of seniors/leaders. Maybe a few red-shirt juniors from this class take on a larger role.
Class of 2017 returns 10 contributors, and based on what the previous classes have done between their second and third years on campus, we can probably expect at least 4 or 5 new players to step up and contribute from this class.
Class of 2018 returns 7 contributors, and based on previous classes, we should expect another 6-7 to step into contributing roles next year.
Class of 2019: Who knows? If I had to guess, based on ratings and position need, I'd expect 8-9 of these guys to contribute next year.
All told, I think we will return close to 75% of the players who contributed to this (lack-luster) year, but should pick up another 17-19 contributors to replace the 10 who leave. That should, at the least, mean better depth and a little more talent.
