Carolina Confidential – Team notes as preseason camp ends
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South Carolina worked through its second and final scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday at Williams-Brice and will have its “mock game week” this week leading into the real game week.
Leading into the first scrimmage was a huge install week on both sides of the ball while the lead up to the second scrimmage was much more of a “situational” week with the team working through lots of in-game situations from a down, distance, field position, and game flow standpoint.
The word out of the first scrimmage was that the defense really ran things that day and while I’d still give the edge to the defense based on everything I’ve been told over the last 48 hours, the offense also had its share of moments where it answered back, creating some big plays and having some moments where they really moved the ball and executed. If anything, though, it sounds like it’s been pretty clear to this point which side of the ball is loaded with veterans and which side has more young players.
More scrimmage scoop: Mike Uva on scrimmage | Chris Clark on scrimmage
— As Shane Beamer said, working on the passing game was a huge focus of the scrimmage and the staff let the quarterbacks drop back and throw the ball around. That meant mixing in a lot of the wide receivers and giving them the chance to make plays. There were some drops, arguably still too many, but less than last week and there seemed to be a lot more plays made by the receivers this week too.
I get the impression with less than two weeks until the season opener that you’re going to see a heavy rotation of players in the early going of the season to see who can consistently get open and make plays.
If there’s one player from the group who it seems has made the biggest strides it’s Jared Brown who after having a strong summer had another productive scrimmage on Saturday. Brown may have the “it” factor as it seems his name consistently pops up after scrimmages it’s telling that we heard independent reports from those that Mike, Chris and I talked to about Brown having a big day.
Putting the pieces together, it sounds like some combination from the group of Brown, Mazeo Bennett, Vandrevius Jacobs, and Tyshawn Russell may be on track to start but again I expect a heavy rotation and I’m not sure that’s really been settled yet — that’s me putting together the pieces on everything I’ve heard throughout camp.
Nyck Harbor and Dalevon Campbell continue to have their moments and flashes but are also continuing to work on consistency. I don’t get the sense that either will be first out on next Saturday but they’ll get their chances. Luke Doty has also been a solid, reliable target, and walk-on Payton Mangrum had a nice day too.
— While all signs continue to point to LaNorris Sellers as South Carolina’s starter, you can take Shane Beamer at face value when he talked up three quarterbacks on Saturday.
Sellers, Robby Ashford, and Davis Beville all had their moments in the game. Ashford has improved quite a bit as a passer under Dowell Loggains and Beville also throws a great ball and should slot in nicely as a third-string signal-caller.
One person I talked with thought Sellers had a solid day for his standards while someone else was a little higher on it. It’s a given that his playmaking ability is going to flash.
The key for this offense as a whole will be if they cut down on some of the mistakes Beamer alluded to and be more consistent. Some of that will likely be cleaned up when the offense gets into an actual game week mode with a game plan and a smaller package of plays, as opposed to just dialing up a bunch of plays. There was also at least one big pass play that didn’t count due to a “sack” that was a dime from Sellers — since the QBs weren’t getting hit it was debatable on if it would have counted in a real game.
— With the offense dropping back to throw so much, they hit some big plays but again the overall feel I got is that the defensive line did win more of those pass-rush battles up front, particularly once both sides of the ball got deeper into their depth.
I say that not to alarm you but just to set expectations. There’s no doubt that this offensive line is going to be improved from the one last year but I don’t think it’s a finished product yet.
Unlike last year at this time, it does seem they’ve for the most part settled on a top five that are getting the chance to gel and work together a lot. That wasn’t a luxury they had last year. They’ve still been rotating some but it sounds like that top five we referenced towards the beginning of camp — Josiah Thompson, Kamaar Bell, Vershon Lee, Torricelli Simpkins III, Cason Henry — have gotten a lot of reps together.
— Reiterating something both Mike and Chris separately heard: this looked like fast, athletic, swarming, deep defense. They were getting after it and playing with confidence.
— Shoutout to a couple of the young guys who haven’t been talked about as much.
Freshman safety David Bucey had a diving play on a ball and runs around with aggression and no regard for human life. He apparently flashed quite a bit on Saturday. I don’t know what that means for his spot in the rotation but he’s a heck of an early special teams candidate and potentially a rotational guy at safety.
We’ve been told that Gerald Kilgore is definitely in that top four at safety. I’ve had Peyton Williams in my mind as the other guy in there but could Bucey make a push?
Wendell Gregory has been providing depth at EDGE and apparently had a very impressive day, showing off an impressive first step. Keep in mind that while Carolina recruited him as a linebacker, he was listed by On3 as an EDGE, so it’s not that far-fetched to think he could ultimately play there.
— We continue to hear that the coaching staff is incredibly excited about Michael Smith and Smith had another strong day on Saturday. He knows how to get open, knows how to go get the football, and also has a knack for dragging defenders.
I also continue to hear that sophomore walk-on Maurice Brown II continues to turn heads and will play this year. Both of those guys have quickly climbed the depth chart.
— Last week, Beamer referenced wanting more consistency out of the kicking game and all indications are that it was a solid day for the kickers on Saturday. They weren’t perfect but did hit a bunch of kicks. Alex Herrera, William Joyce, and freshman Mason Love remain in that competition.
— South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri, a former high school quarterback, was at Friday’s football practice when he briefly addressed the team and then was at Saturday’s scrimmage as well.
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