Montario Hardesty breaks down South Carolina running back room that’s in transition
With its two leading rushers gone from a year ago, the South Carolina running back room will have a different look this season.
The Gamecocks added a pair of running back transfers Christian Beal-Smith and Lovasea Carroll to go along with established guys Marshawn Llloyd and JuJu McDowell.
Beal-Smith brings a veteran presence to the group. He was Wake Forest’s leading rusher for the past two seasons. The 5-foot-10, 201-pound running back totaled 604 yards and seven touchdowns on 131 carries in 2021 in helping the Demon Deacons to the ACC Atlantic Division championship
Carroll came to USC from Georgia, where he played defensive back last season. He told reporters earlier this spring that he wanted to get back playing running back, something he did in high school.
“I like them as men from what they bring off the field. Christian Beal Smith was a captain and starter at Wake Forest,” running backs coach Montario Hardesty said. “He was a great special teams player and good in pass protection. ... He is dynamic, got a little more wiggle than you think and he runs ready. He has picked up the scheme.”
Both newcomers should be factors on special teams. Carroll was seen returning kickoffs at practice Thursday during the open portion seen by the media.
“Lovasea is real fast. He’s got speed, and it is just a matter of honing his skills back in,” Hardesty said. “I liked his high school tape. He was one of the top running backs in the country. He has brought some positive things to the group.”
Kevin Harris (659 rushing yards) and ZaQuandre White (583) opted to enter the NFL Draft, leaving Lloyd and McDowell as USC’s top returning backs. Lloyd came back from an ACL injury as a freshman and ran for 228 yards last year in his sophomore season.
“I have been there with the ACL injury and know how it is,” Hardesty said. “When you are back, you can’t do stuff that your mind thinks you can do. You see he has his confidence back and he is understanding football a lot more. … He put a lot of things on himself, but you could see the growth and being one of the leaders on the team.”
McDowell, the team’s top returning rusher with 248 yards, has brought the “juice” during the spring despite missing some time with an injury. Hardesty said he challenged the 178-pound McDowell to get a little bigger — maybe up to a weight where Warrick Dunk played during his NFL career with Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Dunn was listed at 187 pounds for his final season in the NFL.
Hardesty said it’s too early to say who will get the nod at running back. He said he would like to have a dominant back, something offensive Marcus Satterfield said earlier this spring. But that doesn’t mean fans won’t see a healthy rotation of guys during the game.
“You can never have enough guys ready to go,” Hardesty said. “I want to have six or seven ready to go and have the coaches make the decision. When your number is up, be ready to go. I definitely want to have a starting running back we can lean on and go from there.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Montario Hardesty breaks down South Carolina running back room that’s in transition."
