Carolina Confidential – Spring football notes
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South Carolina is now seven practices into its spring and is set to hold its first scrimmage on Saturday which means there’s been enough on-field action for us to get a feel for how things have played out so far.
In this edition, we’re going to focus on some guys who we’ve heard enough positive things about to consider their “stock up” based on feedback from the first half of spring ball.
If someone isn’t mentioned, that doesn’t mean it’s stock down, these are just some guys we’ve heard significant buzz about.
In general, we won’t hear as much this year about established players — you and everyone else already knows about the talent of Spencer Rattler and Juice Wells — we’re more focused on newcomers or players who will see increased roles.
— Chris Clark mentioned Nick Garguilo as a standout in an edition of The Insider Report earlier this week and I’ll reiterate his name because we’ve heard similar things there.
Garguilo came in with relatively little fanfare as a transfer from Yale but he’s already making his presence known in practice. Some guys are just natural leaders and despite only being on campus for a few months, Garguilo is one of those guys who has instantly become a key player on this team.
He’s a natural leader, has a mean streak on the field, and is definitely an SEC-caliber player. It’s already at the point that I’d be pretty surprised if he doesn’t find his way into the starting lineup in some role. Right now he’s been working at both left guard and center.
— I still fully expect South Carolina to hit the transfer portal for a running back during the post-spring window but there are some very positive signs about the progress at that position due to the combination of the emergence of both Dakereon Joyner and Mario Anderson.
The feedback on Joyner that we have heard has gotten increasingly positive throughout camp from early indications like he looks natural to the further revalations that he really has a chance to help this team. Joyner, we’re told, has displayed good vision and explosiveness and a knack for knifing into the hole and also has taken at least some reps with the first team.
Anderson has also been impressive in his transition to the SEC and appears to have FBS level traits in the open field. I don’t yet have a great feel for his rushing style but I’m more confident in saying he’s definitely going to help this team.
— When we first saw Xzavier McLeod at South Carolina’s first practice, our first impression was that he looked great physically for a freshman but we didn’t want to get too ahead of ourselves and create unrealistic expectation just based on the eye test.
But turns out our initial instinct was right and if you were putting together a way-too-early list of contributors and redshirts, McLeod would actually project to contribute this season, realistically in a reserve role.
McLeod has always had the physical traits but we’re told that he’s already matured quite a bit in his first few months on campus and that he has developed positive early habits in terms of studying his playbook and being early to positional meetings.
Those who know him well have been really proud of how he’s carried himself so far and he’s always been someone who we felt the upside was through the roof if he could put it all together.
— This likely doesn’t come as a surprise since I believe we have talked up the new tight ends even before spring ball started but the feedback we’ve received is that those guys are all as advertised.
Some were surprised when we said that Joshua Simon was working with the 1s during open practice last week but we’ve since been told that Trey Knox has been a little dinged up. He’s still been able to practice, so it’s not a big deal, but they have limited his reps at times.
From what we’ve heard, Knox and Simon have both been outstanding with Knox being as expected as a big target who can run and has been developing a rapport with Spencer Rattler.
Simon has probably been even better than advertised and is going to help this team quite a bit too.
While both are probably considered pass-catchers, we hear they haven’t been shy about sticking their faces in there and blocking which should allow the team to put them on the field in pass or run situations.
Florida transfer Nick Elksnis has also been good and has helped on both offense and special teams. Elksnis is probably the opposite of the other two in terms of skillset — he will be more of a block-first player but much like the other two are capable of blocking, he’s proved capable of catching the ball which makes him valuable as a secondary passing option on running downs.
From what we heard, the buzz overall is very positive on the tight end group and they also like the two freshmen who are still learning as you would expect but are big targets who are good and willing blockers. Connor Cox has put on 10-plus pounds of good weight since arriving.
— Speaking of special teams, South Carolina is obviously thrilled to have its primary specialists back in Kai Kroeger, Mitch Jeter and Xavier Legette but one thing to note is that there is quite a bit of turnover in terms of the many other players on the team who impacted special teams last year in some of the more overlooked spots that rarely get focused on.
Pete Lembo is the type who is going to be a detail-oriented, start from scratch type teacher regardless but the Gamecocks will be breaking in some newbies on Teams so getting them up to speed in terms of playing up to the Lembo/Beamer standard has been a big focus.
— Freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers experienced some of the typical Week 1 true freshman ups and downs, we hear, but he’s already started to settle in and word is he’s had some nice moments.
Both Spencer Rattler and Luke Doty have been really good, as you would expect.
— South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White called O’Donnell Fortune “a new man” during his press conference and Fortune has made major strides in terms of focusing on the details and responding to things the right way, we’re told. He wants to prove he’s ready to be a starter in the SEC.
— Another true freshman who has really impressed for an early enrollee: Markee Anderson. The movement skills for his size are off the charts, and as Shane Beamer commented this week, so is his IQ. Bright future, for sure.
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