Projecting impact of South Carolina’s three freshmen who enroll this month
By the end of this month, all of South Carolina’s 2024 high school signing class will be on campus.
Twelve of the Gamecocks 15 high school signees for the cycle already enrolled and went through spring practice with defensive back Jalewis Solomon, running back Matthew Fuller, and tight end Michael Smith set to arrive in Columbia a couple of days before Memorial Day.
The trio of four-star prospects won’t have the advantage of having used the spring semester to get acclimated to college life but NCAA rules allow coaches to do plenty with their teams during the summer now. And as Shane Beamer pointed out Wednesday, of South Carolina’s five true freshmen who played a lot last year, three did not arrive until the summer.
In the year prior, both Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith arrived in the summer and were starting in the secondary by Week 3. So a player doesn’t have to go through spring to make an early impact — if you can play, you can play.
Shane Beamer high on Jalewis Solomon
It seems rare for Beamer to go out of his way to single out a player who hasn’t arrived on campus yet and while it was still somewhat subtle Beamer did throw Solomon right into the mix when discussing South Carolina’s cornerback battle this spring.
The Gamecocks will almost surely start upperclassman O’Donnell Fortune at one cornerback spot but had a wide-open competition this spring with Judge Collier, Emory Floyd, Vicari Swain, and David Spaulding battling it out to start on the opposite side.
Solomon, a highly regarded and highly recruited two-way playmaker who totaled over 3,400 yards and 34 touchdowns as a receiver during his high school career, will have a path to playing time but will also have to come in ready if he’s going to pass two or three of the guys already ahead of him.
The Gamecocks will essentially be looking for three spots to be filled in the rotation: starter opposite Fortune, backup 1, and backup 2. In the past, if there’s a clear top backup, they’ve also leaned towards playing that player as the reserve for each cornerback spot, in what becomes a three-man rotation.
Collier, Floyd, and Swain all had productive springs (Spaulding can play corner, safety or nickel but has dealt with injuries throughout his career, including this spring) and won’t make it easy on Solomon but at the same time, there’s a reason Beamer has mentioned him and GamecockCental continues hearing that the staff is high on Solomon’s ability to make an impact.
Could the Gamecocks also choose to give Solomon a shot at nickelback? Jalon Kilgore is locked in as the starter there but with Keenan Nelson Jr. hitting the portal, there’s a need for someone to step in and provide depth. The 6-foot, 185-pound Solomon has the physicality to play the position.
The buzz on Matthew Fuller
Fuller, who steadily rose in the rankings to ultimately become a four-star prospect, didn’t go through spring but he’s taken some steps to try to mitigate that.
As Beamer mentioned the other day, he was in contact with the head coach about his excitement level to arrive on campus, and we’re told he was in town for at least some of the spring to watch.
Listed at 5-foot-10, 205-pounds as a signee, Fuller has also seemingly worked hard in the weight room and has put on some good weight we’re told. He may have gained another 10 pounds and possibly an inch of height since those measurables were collected.
Realistically, Fuller will arrive in Columbia looking up at Rocket Sanders, Oscar Adaway, Jawarn Howell, DJay Braswell, and Juju McDowell on the depth chart, so we’re not talking about an instant starter. But we also can’t rule out Fuller slowly chipping away at his place in the rotation either and running back is a position that the depth is almost always tested at some point in the season.
As of right now, he’s a player we’ll be monitoring closely this summer to try and get a read on the initial buzz once he arrives in Columbia.
Michael Smith brings pass-catching ability to tight ends
For Smith, like the two players detailed above, and really for all freshmen, his ability to make a quick impact will be highly dependent on his mindset when he first arrives on campus.
Like with Fuller, we’ll be paying close attention to the early buzz here as well once summer workouts start because there’s a wide range of possible outcomes for this season.
What we do know is that Smith will be one of the best natural pass-catchers in the tight end room the moment he arrives in Columbia. In the past, he’s also made sure to let us know in no uncertain teams that he’s more than just a receiver playing tight end and that he wants to prove his ability as a blocker and physical threat.
Josh Simon and Brady Hunt appear to be the two frontrunners to start at tight end but there could be some room for a guy like Smith after them, especially with his athleticism and catch radius, if he proves he’s ready.
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