Projecting South Carolina’s depth chart after the team’s first scrimmage
A lot about how South Carolina’s depth chart will shake out in the coming weeks. That doesn’t mean we can’t take some shots at projecting how it will come together.
The Gamecocks ran through their first scrimmage Saturday, getting a little inconsistent play but good effort. At the very least, Will Muschamp came out of it with a sense of where his receivers stand, and he touched on a few other details.
With what we’ve learned through two weeks of practices, let’s project how South Carolina’s depth chart will look at season’s start.
Quarterback
No. 1 Collin Hill
No. 2 Ryan Hilinski
No. 3 Luke Doty
With some of the praise coming out about Hill, it just sounds like the path for anyone else to hold the top job is a narrow one. Hill was in a good position before camp started. He knows the offense backward and forward, including some footwork Hilinski didn’t. One teammate said Hill’s got an NFL arm. He’s plenty big and speed likely won’t be a big separating factor unless Doty comes on like a spitfire. Hilinski could just flat out practice better the next two weeks, but he doesn’t have certain edges.
Running back
No. 1 ZaQuandre White
No. 2 Deshaun Fenwick
No. 3 Kevin Harris
No. 4 Rashad Amos
Fenwick has received some really strong reviews from offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. He’s big, pretty fast and seems to have attacked the offseason well. But White just seems to have too much potential to not take the top spot. He was athletic enough to play Power 5 linebacker and was a lead back in junior college last season. The pair could make a good 1-2 punch. Harris is a bruiser who could have his say, and Amos is a big player whose vision Muschamp praised over the weekend.
Fullback
No. 1 Adam Prentice
No. 2 Spencer Eason-Riddle
No. 3 Sean McGonigal
Prentice was brought in as a grad transfer and has played the role of fullback for years. He’ll also spend time as an H-back tight end. If he were to miss time for any reason, it’s likely the team would just play with more tight ends and no fullback. Eason-Riddle played some fullback in recent years, and Sean McGonigal followed Eason-Riddle’s lead of a linebacker who moved to that spot.
Wide receiver
No. 1 group: Jalen Brooks, Shi Smith, Xavier Legette
No. 2 group: Dakereon Joyner, Luke Doty, Rico Powers
We’re being optimists for the moment because Brooks — a transfer — hasn’t received a waiver from the NCAA to play this year, and it’s not clear if or when that will come. If that doesn’t happen, bump Powers to the top group, though Joyner could shift Smith outside as well. Muschamp laid this out as his top group, though former four-star Josh Vann has had a few good days of practice lately.
Tight end
No. 1 Nick Muse
No. 2 Adam Prentice
No. 3 KeShawn Toney
No. 4 Will Register
Muse is the man, and Prentice will functionally help here a good bit. Muse is big and a receiving threat, with some pop after the catch. Toney has impressed other players with his diligence. After Register held smaller roles the past three years, Muse praised his progress. Muschamp noted there has been some good competition here. Looming behind them is redshirt freshman Traevon Kenion, who has seen his development disrupted at several junctures, and Keveon Mullins, a former four-star receiver transitioning to the role. Both freshmen at the position (Jaheim Bell, Eric Shaw) missed time with injuries, which hurts at a developmental spot.
Offensive tackle
No. 1 group: Jazston Turnetine (left), Dylan Wonnum (right)
No. 2 group: Jakai Moore (left), Jaylen Nichols (right)
Turnetine established himself quickly in the spring, while Wonnum earned some praise for his consistency this fall. When healthy, Wonnum has started the past season and a half. Moore and Nichols both have a lot of potential, but they’re waiting their turn for the moment unless someone shifts inside.
Offensive guard
No. 1 group: Sadarius Hutcherson (left), Jovaughn Gwyn (right)
No. 2 group: Wyatt Campbell (left), Vincent Murphy (right)
After the Jordan Rhodes opted out, the spot is a little top-heavy. Hutcherson is the most experienced man on the line and moving back to his natural spot. Gwyn was a fast riser, taking a starting spot last season. Murphy is working more at guard after some time at center, while Campbell has a few years in the program. Freshman Vershon Lee could push Campbell and perhaps work into a better spot through the season.
Center
No. 1 Eric Douglas
No. 2 Hank Manos
Both these players opened 2019 in the starting lineup and got benched after a disastrous first game. Muschamp said Douglas has been holding down the No. 1 spot, and after spending years as a utility lineman, this could be the place he lands.
Defensive end
No. 1 Aaron Sterling
No. 2 Tonka Hemingway
No. 3 Joseph Anderson
This spot was deep enough that the team moved Kingsley Enagbare over to the other side of the line in some packages. Sterling has been a steady, solid pass rusher across three years, while Hemingway impressed the coaching staff through the summer. Anderson is a former four-star who played in one game as a freshman. Sterling also sometimes bumps inside in pass rushing spots.
Buck
No. 1 Kingsley Enagbare
No. 2 Jordan Burch
No. 3 Rod Fitten
Enagbare is on the bigger side for the Buck position, but he’s a talented pass rusher and can push the pocket in some different ways. It remains to be seen how he operates as a defender in occasional pass coverage, but the Buck tends to be moved all over to create different angles. Burch is a high-end talent the staff has spoken well of, and if he can tap into that ability quickly, he’ll be a factor.
Defensive tackle
No. 1 Keir Thomas, Zacch Pickens
No. 2 Jabari Ellis, Rick Sandidge
No. 3 Makius Scott, Alex Huntley
At the moment, it’s Thomas and Ellis with the top group, and Muschamp sounded not pleased with what he’s getting from the rest of his defensive lines. That said, Pickens is still enough of a talent that it’s hard to not see him taking a key role in the starting lineup. Since Thomas has started his past two healthy years and always been reliable, project him in the top group, with the steady Ellis up next, plus Sandidge, who possesses a good bit of talent but has yet to truly assert himself. Scott and Huntley have seemed to make good progress early, with Scott probably being a little ahead.
Middle linebacker
No. 1 Ernest Jones
No. 2 Damani Staley
Jones is the undisputed starter after last season but hasn’t been around for much of camp because of an appendix issue. He’ll still be the starter, but Muschamp said it’s forced Staley to switch over and become a more vocal presence. (Staley also added some weight.) The staff often has a bit of flexibility when it comes to linebackers cross-training, and with Staley’s normal position a bit deeper, let’s park him here.
Weakside/dime linebacker
No. 1 Sherrod Greene
No. 2 Jahmar Brown
No. 3 Mohamed Kaba
Greene had an up-and-down career with a concussion forcing a de facto position change after an inconsistent first year as a starter. Two years later, the athletic North Carolina product is showing well and seems a shoo-in for a major role. Brown has dabbled at safety some, but Muschamp also likes what he adds as a dime linebacker with his skills in pass coverage. Kaba might have one of the higher ceilings as an athlete in the group, but he’s coming off a knee injury and still a freshman.
Strongside linebacker
No. 1 Brad Johnson
No. 2 Rosendo Louis
One of the interesting developments of camp has been Johnson, who was switched from Buck, a spot he played for three seasons, to this spot, one the team only has on the field about a third of the time. He’s a veteran who missed most of last year with injury but was a four-star out of high school and spent years backing up NFL Draft pick DJ Wonnum. Louis has been beset by various maladies in each of his first two seasons and missed some of the offseason after leg surgery, but at points the staff has been high on his talent.
Corner
No. 1 pair: Israel Mukuamu, Jaycee Horn
No. 2 pair: Cam Smith, John Dixon
The top pairing projects as one of the better ones in the entire SEC. The main question is, can second-year players Smith and Dixon provide steady enough presences to let the staff toy with moving Mukuamu to safety in some situations? Or can the team perhaps use Horn in the slot if the situation calls for it? The team has also been moving its freshmen around, with Joey Hunter providing a longer and hard-hitting option if he can get the finer points down.
Safety
No. 1 pair: Jammie Robinson, RJ Roderick
No. 2 pair: Israel Mukuamu, Jaylin Dickerson
It didn’t take long after he stepped on campus for Robinson to emerge as one of the three best members of South Carolina’s secondary. That means he has to hold a bit of a dual role alongside Roderick, an athletic hitter who when from showing flashes to needing to find more consistency. Coaches and players have said Mukuamu slides over when Robinson drops down to nickel, but Dickerson is also an interesting option on that front. He’s quick and rangy, but has been beset by large-scale injuries for much of his career. Players such as Shilo Sanders and O’Donnell Fortune are also working at this spot.
Nickel
No. 1 Jammie Robinson
No. 2 Jaycee Horn
This position is relying heavily on Robinson, who held it down well last year with a mix of power and coverage ability. It remains to be seen how much the Gamecocks can rely on groups with fewer than five defensive backs, but they’ll have a nickel out there more than half the time. After Robinson, it’s likely Horn, who played there as a freshman, and John Dixon, who has strong overage skills but isn’t the biggest at 6-foot, 185 pounds.
Punter
No. 1 Kai Kroeger
No. 2 Christian Kinsley
Kroeger was brought in as a scholarship guy and is very talented. It’s likely going to end up with him as the starter unless Kinsley puts on a great camp.
Kicker
No. 1 Parker White
No. 2 Mitch Jeter
White has started for three years and ranks third in program history in total points. It’ll be hard to unseat him, and he’s already joked to Muschamp about using an extra year the NCAA granted to take down Elliott Fry’s career record. (White is 128 points behind.) Should that happen, Jeter will have to wait an extra year to step in, but he’ll likely handle kickoffs.
Punt returner
No. 1 Jaycee Horn
No. 2 Jammie Robinson
Muschamp named these two the top guys coming out of Saturday and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said there’s been pressure on Horn to be the main guy. USC is replacing Bryan Edwards, who was solid after taking over for the explosive but at times risk-taking Chris Lammons.
Kick returner
No. 1 Shi Smith
No. 2 Xavier Legette
This pair primarily handled the role last year, with Smith starting the year with a nice return and not much noise from the group after that. Dakereon Joyner could step in and be a factor as well, but Smith remains an often explosive option with that unit.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 5:21 AM with the headline "Projecting South Carolina’s depth chart after the team’s first scrimmage."
