What we’ve learned, what we don’t yet know

There is just a one game sample size so far in 2023, but with the season opener in the books, there are some things we already know about this season’s Gamecocks football program.

Plenty of unanswered questions remain, too, with Furman coming to town on Saturday and the beginning of the SEC slate right around the corner.

Let’s begin by looking at three things we know about Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks following the opening loss to North Carolina.

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1. Spencer Rattler has taken the next step

Perhaps folks will not agree and say they need to see more throughout the rest of the season, but I do not need to see any more to mark Rattler’s progression from last season to this year.

Despite questions in the run game, not having Juice Wells for much of the game on Saturday (Wells played just 19 snaps), and despite being sacked 9 times and under pressure for most of the contest, Rattler delivered a performance that kept USC in the game.

He was 30-39 passing and had a few drops by receivers that would have been big plays to extend drives. It’s remarkable, really, that Rattler did not have any “turnover worthy plays” given all the heat being put on him during the game. Playing from behind much of the game, going against an opposing quarterback that had plenty of hype going in,

It makes one wonder what the offense could look like with better protection and a semblance of a run game. Most of the rest of the offense still has to catch up to Rattler’s level to unlock its full potential, but he looks like we thought he would after a strong offseason.

2. The offensive tackle position is going to stay in flux for a while

The Gamecocks lost multiple starters that had plenty of experience from last season’s team. Jaylen Nichols went down in the spring. Cason Henry, who could have provided some relief and stability at right tackle, was injured early against UNC and is out for a while.

Vershon Lee is the only player who started the opener in 2022 who started against the Tar Heels, albeit at a different position. The tackle position was the most glaring problem area of the entire game against UNC. Henry went down early, and the staff tried Sidney Fugar, Jaxon Hughes, and Tyshawn Wannamaker during the game.

Others will get an audition during this week of practice. Nick Gargiulo – who played left tackle at Yale – could draw consideration, as could Jakai Moore kicking outside. True freshman Tree Babalade is also going to get a look here.

Regardless, this position is not as stable as it would have been if Nichols and Henry were able to play, or if some of the other candidates had a stronger game one. USC’s recruiting very well on the offensive line, but the most talented tackles are either young or not on campus yet.

3. More young players are going to factor in as the season goes on

Shane Beamer set the stage earlier this week for a continued youth movement on the team, saying that there may be some growing pains for the Gamecocks to deal with at some spots.

When safety Nick Emmanwori was hurt early against UNC, Jalon Kilgore came into the game and played 63 snaps in his first ever college football game. He delivered with double-digit tackles and was one of the highest-graded defenders on the team, per PFF. With Emmanwori doubtful, he will be back in there this week against Furman.

Along with Kilgore and Babalade (offensive tackle), there are plenty of other guys that come to mind as having an opportunity to play more as the staff looks for answers. Desmond Umeozulu, Markee Anderson (once healthy), Trovon Baugh, DJ Braswell, Pup Howard, Nyck Harbor, Xzavier McLeod, Vicari Swain, Connor Cox, Elijah Caldwell, and Judge Collier all look like candidates to play more. In the run game, could LaNorris Sellers eventually get involved?

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Let’s now look at three areas that remain questions for South Carolina the remainder of this 2023 season.

1. Is USC’s defense markedly improved from last season?

It was a mixed bag against UNC defensively. On one hand, the Gamecocks forced two turnovers out of quarterback Drake Maye, who had just seven picks all of last year. The defense did a good job on talented running back Omarion Hampton. Overall, the point total for UNC (31) was lower than my projection of 38 before the contest, even factoring in an expected level of defensive improvement from UNC.

On the other, running back British Brooks went over 100 yards on the ground, South Carolina struggled to get off the field on third down, and there were a couple of exposures in pass coverage on touchdown passes. Plus, USC notably did not sack Drake Maye (UNC gave up 40 sacks in 2022) and struggled to meaningfully affect him all night.

There are some areas that look more positive here. Marcellas Dial looked the part in coverage. When Emmanwori gets back, he and DQ Smith (plus the aforementioned Kilgore) should be strong. Debo Williams and Stone Blanton looked active against the run. But finding consistency stopping the run, cleaning up some coverage issues, and finding a way to affect the passer are still questions.

2. The run game.

A one game sample in which Dakereon Joyner had 23 yards but 24 after contact (meaning he was hit early and often at or before the line of scrimmage) and in which the offensive line struggled may not be a good enough sample to make a bold declaration.

Of course, that type of overall run game performance is not sustainable for USC this season. It starts up front with finding a workable combination on the offensive line and playing much better, regardless of who is in the backfield or which plays are called.

USC is not going to be incredibly dynamic in the run game this year, but it must be better than what we saw last weekend.

3. The overall outlook

It is true that if USC plays like it did in Charlotte, it is going to be tough to find a nice cluster of wins in 2023.

It is also true that USC may not necessarily play that way the rest of the season. One could point to the Gamecocks’ seasons in 2021 and 2022 as evidence that a team should not be buried for losing a single game.

That said, there are some legitimate reasons for concern going forward. The frustrating thing for fans in 2023 is knowing how much talent was there on offense, then putting forth a goose egg against Florida, the Missouri game, and so on. This season, there are more questions at the backup wide receiver spots and in the run game. Still, there’s more potential to maximize than what we saw on Saturday. The key is whether or not the staff and players can unlock it.

There are precious few “should win” or “toss up” games on this schedule, and one in the latter category is already in the loss column. We know what the problems are so far, but we do not yet know if USC can get them corrected and back on track. The next true “measuring stick” game is likely Mississippi State at home, so we’ll probably know more then.

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