W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
With the closed nature of spring practices in today's college football climate, I like to take the combined data of what I see with my own eyes, what the coaches are saying publicly, and what I'm hearing from people who are tied in or watching practice in order to try and give a complete picture of what's going on. Here's what I'm hearing and seeing this week.
** You can already tell that Mike Bobo is the type of coach who tells it how he sees it and I thought what he said Thursday about his quarterbacks was positive. Bobo was blunt about the fact that Ryan Hilinski's footwork wasn't good last season, but that gives his comments a little more credibility when he talks about the accuracy in which Hilinski has thrown the football this spring and the amount of extra work he's putting in.
Bobo seems happy with what Hilinski has done through five practices. It was also interesting to learn earlier this week that Hilinski actually did play in an under-center offense as a sophomore in high school and that a lot of his muscle memory remains intact from that. Playing under-center is completely different for quarterbacks who have never done it, but having the baseline to fall back on should be big for Hilinski as he's having to learn a lot of new things this spring.
(Sophomore QB Ryan Hilinski/Chris Gillespie)
It should come as no surprise that Bobo had the praise for Luke Doty that he did, considering what we've consistently heard and reported for the last two months. I also thought it was interesting that Bobo, too, lumped Doty and MarShawn Lloyd together in mentioning how they carry themselves and their work ethic and how much they care since we've consistently lumped them together among the newcomers as well.
Despite everything being new to him, Doty looks incredibly confident out there. He's been delivering the ball with accuracy and with a tight spiral when I've watched him. And I've been told that he can definitely take the heat of playing the position. Whenever Bobo gets on him for making a mistake (Bobo is an intense dude), he's "yessir" and right back onto the next play. There's no way to know what this season will bring for Doty, but yall know I've been high on him for a long time, and it's only been solidified with the start of camp.
(Freshman QB Luke Doty/Chris Gillespie)
** Deshaun Fenwick is a massive dude and I don't think it accurately comes across online just how big he is until you see him up close and in person. Think old school SEC middle linebacker in your head when you think of his size. Going back to what I said at the top, I know what my eyes see, and that's that Fenwick absolutely looks the part. But I didn't know coming in to this spring, exactly how Fenwick would fit with all the talent coming in around him.
So, consider it a major positive that Fenwick's name was the first out of Bobo's mouth when talking about the running backs. And consider it another positive that the second thing out of his mouth was to talk about Fenwick's physicality, something that the staff has been able to coax out of Fenwick since he arrived. It's a nice development and really not one we were necessarily expecting.
(Redshirt sophomore RB Deshaun Fenwick/Chris Gillespie)
** MarShawn Lloyd has a chance to be special and we're really running out of ways to say it.
** It shouldn't come as a surprise that Bobo mentioned his incoming skill players in the way that he did and what he said publicly, matches up perfectly with what I've heard behind the scenes: the summer newcomers of running backs ZaQuandre White and Rashad Amos, tight ends Jaheim Bell and Eric Shaw and wide receivers Rico Powers and Ger-Cari Caldwell are going to be given every opportunity to help the team this season.
The wide receiver position is probably the one that I have the most concern about for 2020 and I get that vibe internally as well. They're not consistent enough right now and they need more guys to show they can consistently get open and catch the football. Caldwell and Powers are not only going to be given the chance there, but they're frankly going to be needed there, and the staff will bring them along as fast as possible. I can tell you that both are already being told to get their minds on showing up ready to play.
Bobo did praise Xavier Legette and that's a positive sign. Legette is a good kid who has been through a ton in his life (losing both parents at a young age). He works hard and cares and has the upside you're looking for, just needs to get more consistent. The fact that he's been able to stay in there while others have been banged up, has helped in this spring and he's gotten a lot of first-team reps I'm told.
Dakereon Joyner looked noticeably more muscular to me and that should serve him well at receiver. He's also involved in special teams and was working on running through blocks as a gunner on punt or kick team today. The next step for him is, according to Bobo, to run his routes more naturally and without thinking, as opposed to robotically hitting his breaks because he's still thinking through them. That's something that should come with time.
From what I've heard, I wouldn't overlook White or Amos at running back. The staff will give both the chance to show they can help this year. That's probably been known in the case of White since he's a JUCO, but it was emphasized to me that Amos will have every chance to help too.
(Sophomore WR Xavier Legette and DC Travaris Robinson/Chris Gillespie)
** Jaz Turnetine, Jakai Moore and Jalen Nichols are all taking some first-team reps at offensive tackle and there's some good competition there, especially when you consider that Dylan Wonnum will be back for the fall. That allows them to leave Sadarius Hutcherson at guard, which is where I believe he's best suited. That's essentially three guys competing for one spot. At center, Eric Douglas and Hank Manos are getting a lot of reps with the ones with Vincent Murphy and Trai Jones rotating in.
** The fact that South Carolina will be under-center more this season is certainly worth talking about and that will no doubt be a part of the scheme, but I don't get any sense that this is going to be anything close to some old-school, completely under-center offense. Bobo himself said today that they've actually been more under-center in the spring than they will be in the fall. Part of that is they've been banged up at WR and are still waiting on the two other WRs to arrive. I'd imagine another part of that is so that the offensive guys can get acclimated to it. There are certainly times that being under-center is useful and we'll see South Carolina do it. But Bobo's offenses at both CSU and UGA were multiple with plenty of shotgun and RPO and various tempos. This is going to be a multiple offense here too and it really hasn't been decided yet, exactly what the scheme is going to become.
** Looking at the two freshman defensive backs who are already on campus, Dom Hill physically looks like the one who is more ready to contribute to me. He's a bit thicker than O'D Fortune at this point in their careers. Hill is at corner and Fortune at safety.
Jaylin Dickerson has been full-go from what I can tell and that's a promising sign. I believe he's gotten some work with the ones at safety too.
(Freshman DB Dom Hill/Chris Gillespie)
** The area around the field in the indoor practice facility was packed today as the Gamecocks hosted several guests including some prospects as we noted in today's Carolina Confidential, some local high school coaches, and former N.C. State running backs coach Des Kitchings.
Listen to Gamecock Central Podcasts on these platforms: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PlayerFM | SoundCloud | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | Spreaker | YouTube | Castbox | Podcast Addict
** You can already tell that Mike Bobo is the type of coach who tells it how he sees it and I thought what he said Thursday about his quarterbacks was positive. Bobo was blunt about the fact that Ryan Hilinski's footwork wasn't good last season, but that gives his comments a little more credibility when he talks about the accuracy in which Hilinski has thrown the football this spring and the amount of extra work he's putting in.
Bobo seems happy with what Hilinski has done through five practices. It was also interesting to learn earlier this week that Hilinski actually did play in an under-center offense as a sophomore in high school and that a lot of his muscle memory remains intact from that. Playing under-center is completely different for quarterbacks who have never done it, but having the baseline to fall back on should be big for Hilinski as he's having to learn a lot of new things this spring.
(Sophomore QB Ryan Hilinski/Chris Gillespie)
It should come as no surprise that Bobo had the praise for Luke Doty that he did, considering what we've consistently heard and reported for the last two months. I also thought it was interesting that Bobo, too, lumped Doty and MarShawn Lloyd together in mentioning how they carry themselves and their work ethic and how much they care since we've consistently lumped them together among the newcomers as well.
Despite everything being new to him, Doty looks incredibly confident out there. He's been delivering the ball with accuracy and with a tight spiral when I've watched him. And I've been told that he can definitely take the heat of playing the position. Whenever Bobo gets on him for making a mistake (Bobo is an intense dude), he's "yessir" and right back onto the next play. There's no way to know what this season will bring for Doty, but yall know I've been high on him for a long time, and it's only been solidified with the start of camp.
(Freshman QB Luke Doty/Chris Gillespie)
** Deshaun Fenwick is a massive dude and I don't think it accurately comes across online just how big he is until you see him up close and in person. Think old school SEC middle linebacker in your head when you think of his size. Going back to what I said at the top, I know what my eyes see, and that's that Fenwick absolutely looks the part. But I didn't know coming in to this spring, exactly how Fenwick would fit with all the talent coming in around him.
So, consider it a major positive that Fenwick's name was the first out of Bobo's mouth when talking about the running backs. And consider it another positive that the second thing out of his mouth was to talk about Fenwick's physicality, something that the staff has been able to coax out of Fenwick since he arrived. It's a nice development and really not one we were necessarily expecting.
(Redshirt sophomore RB Deshaun Fenwick/Chris Gillespie)
** MarShawn Lloyd has a chance to be special and we're really running out of ways to say it.
** It shouldn't come as a surprise that Bobo mentioned his incoming skill players in the way that he did and what he said publicly, matches up perfectly with what I've heard behind the scenes: the summer newcomers of running backs ZaQuandre White and Rashad Amos, tight ends Jaheim Bell and Eric Shaw and wide receivers Rico Powers and Ger-Cari Caldwell are going to be given every opportunity to help the team this season.
The wide receiver position is probably the one that I have the most concern about for 2020 and I get that vibe internally as well. They're not consistent enough right now and they need more guys to show they can consistently get open and catch the football. Caldwell and Powers are not only going to be given the chance there, but they're frankly going to be needed there, and the staff will bring them along as fast as possible. I can tell you that both are already being told to get their minds on showing up ready to play.
Bobo did praise Xavier Legette and that's a positive sign. Legette is a good kid who has been through a ton in his life (losing both parents at a young age). He works hard and cares and has the upside you're looking for, just needs to get more consistent. The fact that he's been able to stay in there while others have been banged up, has helped in this spring and he's gotten a lot of first-team reps I'm told.
Dakereon Joyner looked noticeably more muscular to me and that should serve him well at receiver. He's also involved in special teams and was working on running through blocks as a gunner on punt or kick team today. The next step for him is, according to Bobo, to run his routes more naturally and without thinking, as opposed to robotically hitting his breaks because he's still thinking through them. That's something that should come with time.
From what I've heard, I wouldn't overlook White or Amos at running back. The staff will give both the chance to show they can help this year. That's probably been known in the case of White since he's a JUCO, but it was emphasized to me that Amos will have every chance to help too.
(Sophomore WR Xavier Legette and DC Travaris Robinson/Chris Gillespie)
** Jaz Turnetine, Jakai Moore and Jalen Nichols are all taking some first-team reps at offensive tackle and there's some good competition there, especially when you consider that Dylan Wonnum will be back for the fall. That allows them to leave Sadarius Hutcherson at guard, which is where I believe he's best suited. That's essentially three guys competing for one spot. At center, Eric Douglas and Hank Manos are getting a lot of reps with the ones with Vincent Murphy and Trai Jones rotating in.
** The fact that South Carolina will be under-center more this season is certainly worth talking about and that will no doubt be a part of the scheme, but I don't get any sense that this is going to be anything close to some old-school, completely under-center offense. Bobo himself said today that they've actually been more under-center in the spring than they will be in the fall. Part of that is they've been banged up at WR and are still waiting on the two other WRs to arrive. I'd imagine another part of that is so that the offensive guys can get acclimated to it. There are certainly times that being under-center is useful and we'll see South Carolina do it. But Bobo's offenses at both CSU and UGA were multiple with plenty of shotgun and RPO and various tempos. This is going to be a multiple offense here too and it really hasn't been decided yet, exactly what the scheme is going to become.
** Looking at the two freshman defensive backs who are already on campus, Dom Hill physically looks like the one who is more ready to contribute to me. He's a bit thicker than O'D Fortune at this point in their careers. Hill is at corner and Fortune at safety.
Jaylin Dickerson has been full-go from what I can tell and that's a promising sign. I believe he's gotten some work with the ones at safety too.
(Freshman DB Dom Hill/Chris Gillespie)
** The area around the field in the indoor practice facility was packed today as the Gamecocks hosted several guests including some prospects as we noted in today's Carolina Confidential, some local high school coaches, and former N.C. State running backs coach Des Kitchings.
Listen to Gamecock Central Podcasts on these platforms: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PlayerFM | SoundCloud | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | Spreaker | YouTube | Castbox | Podcast Addict
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