SEC Media Days is set to conclude on Thursday. And for another year, at least heading into the final day, there hasn’t been anything too crazy said.
For South Carolina, that’s always good when you’re not making the headlines for the wrong reason. Here are a few takeaways from what the Gamecocks had to say on Monday.
More offseason praise for the OL
Earlier this month, LaNorris Sellers shared how the offensive line has been putting in more work than just about every other position. On Monday, Doty also showed his support for the guys in the trenches.
“I just can’t say enough good things about… the big guys up front. (With as) much criticism and stuff that they took last season, they’ve done nothing but work their tails off and do everything they can to make sure that that doesn’t happen again. I’m super proud of those guys.”
While there are things that the OL couldn’t control last year, like dealing with a long list of injuries to their room, they’ve never made excuses. Instead, they’ve taken it personally and are playing with a giant chip on their shoulder. With the talent and depth in that room, add in some extra motivation from last season, and the OL could be one of the biggest strengths of South Carolina’s offense this season.
Despite not suiting up in the spring, Rocket Sanders has still been able to make a massive impression with his new school. Coming back from shoulder surgery, his commitment is not going unnoticed. Luke Doty, Alex Huntley, Debo Williams, and Shane Beamer all shared stories of how Rocket is doing whatever he can to get back to being the Rocket that led the SEC in rushing yards in 2022.
“He’s shaved six percent of body fat off his body since February,” said Beamer. “Lost a considerable amount of weight. He stayed in Columbia the whole month of May when most of our team has left. Outside of offensive line. Our offensive line stayed in May voluntarily. Rocket stayed up there on his own so he could be in ideal shape when our players came back in June.”
As I’ve mentioned before this offseason, I wouldn’t be surprised to see South Carolina ease Rocket into the mix. But make no mistake, when Rocket is good to go both physically and mentally from his injury, lookout.
Saban not counting the Gamecocks out yet
While it’s easy to look at South Carolina’s record last year and see a team who went (5-7), legendary college football coach Nick Saban believes that doesn’t tell the full story about the Gamecocks as they head into a new year.
“I don’t think they’re that far away, I do think they have a chance to make significant improvement,” said Saban. “When they’ve been able to run the ball effectively at South Carolina, they’ve been able to play pretty well and put themselves in a position to have a chance to win. They weren’t able to do that last year when they had all these injuries. Now, they’ve got all these guys back. Rocket (Sanders) is a really good back and a good addition.”
Injuries aside, there’s no question that USC’s OL and RB rooms struggled to find consistency last season. So, what did the Gamecocks do this offseason? They went out and they improved both rooms. For the headaches that this offense faced last year, it’s remarkable to think that they were able to move the football without an OL
Debo playing with an edge
Having covered Debo Williams since he arrived at South Carolina in 2021, I’ve learned that he’s very calculated when he speaks. But this offseason, it feels like he’s not holding back as much. He’s speaking from the heart and it’s clear that he’s hungry.
I told the defense just a couple of weeks ago we’re going for donuts. I don’t want teams scoring, man,” said Williams . “We’ve been doing this for a long time. We’ve been playing together for a long time.”
I’ve said it before. With all due respect to Nick Emmanwori, and anyone else on South Carolina’s defense, Williams is the heart and soul of the Gamecocks defense. Dare I say that I expect him to have another massive season and perhaps go on to be a steal in next year’s NFL Draft in a way that we saw with Ernest Jones.
Embracing the underdog role
When the SEC preseason poll is announced later today (Thursday) South Carolina is expected to be picked towards the bottom. From Shane Beamer to Debo Williams, they’re expecting for this to be the case and they don’t care.
“Let them keep doubting us… we know what we have and we’re excited,” said Beamer.
While Williams echoed those sentiments by saying, “It used to (bother me) but I don’t even care anymore. I don’t care what people have to say. None of that. (Like with me), nobody knew who I was before I got here. (You) work and we’ll create room for you. That’s one of our mottos. We’re just gonna play and we’re gonna ball out.”
The post Quick Slants with Uva: South Carolina takeaways from SEC Media Days appeared first on On3 .
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